The Other Self

„The Other Self –
a textile perspective on exploring identity and belonging”
by Jan Bejšovec and Anže Ermenc

29. 11. – 16. 12. 2016 at Galerija Alkatraz, AKC Metelkova

Opening at 29th of November at 8 p.m.

The double exhibition of textile portraits by the two artists Jan Bejšovec and Anže Ermenc is based on dissimilar experiences and interests. The artists are not only of different origin and age they also never met before. While Bejšovec, a German artist from Berlin, came to Ljubljana, Ermenc as the local moved to Manchester. The connection between the two is their interest in contemporary textile art. Their wish to create a joint work for this exhibition led to the experiment of featuring each others effigy to explore the identity of the counterpart knowing only his oeuvre. Each artist gave a template of his image to the other who was completely free to create a textile portrait from it. By not exchanging any details about the work in progress the artists will see “themselves” at first at the vernissage.


	„The Other Self – a textile perspective on exploring identity and belonging” by Jan Bejšovec and Anže Ermenc 29. 11. – 16. 12. 2016 at Galerija Alkatraz, AKC Metelkova Opening at 29th of November at 8 p.m. The double exhibition of textile portraits by the two artists Jan Bejšovec and Anže Ermenc is based on dissimilar experiences and interests. The artists are not only of different origin and age they also never met before. While Bejšovec, a German artist from Berlin, came to Ljubljana, Ermenc as the local moved to Manchester. The connection between the two is their interest in contemporary textile art. Their wish to create a joint work for this exhibition led to the experiment of featuring each others effigy to explore the identity of the counterpart knowing only his oeuvre. Each artist gave a template of his image to the other who was completely free to create a textile portrait from it. By not exchanging any details about the work in progress the artists will see “themselves” at first at the vernissage.
That approach gives the audience the chance to see two very different kinds of textile artworks. When Ermenc treats his embroideries as a way to reflect upon discomfort and personal experiences through satire in his auto portraits, Bejšovec in contrast portrays controversial persons from history and politics, working about conflicts in a political not personal sense. For a textile portrait the essence of a person must be even more condensed and linked to both the individual character and appearance. With their experiment Jan Bejšovec and Anže Ermenc are refering to that process. The exhibition at Galerija Alkatraz displays a unusual variety in contemporary textile art by a male perspective.
Vabljeni na otvoritev razstave "Drugi jaz – tekstilni pogled na raziskovanje identitete in pripadnosti" Jana Bejšovca in Anžeta Ermenca, v torek, 29. novembra 2016, ob 20. uri, v Galerijo Alkatraz, AKC Metelkova mesto. Idejno izhodišce razstave tekstilnih portretov Jana Bejšovca in Anžeta Ermenca temelji na razlicnosti izkušenj in interesov. Umetnika se razlikujeta glede na narodnost in starost. Poleg tega se še nista srecala. V casu, ko je Jan Bejšovec prvic pripotoval v Ljubljano iz Berlina, je Anže Ermenc odhajal iz Ljubljane v Manchester. Kljub mnogim razlikam oba povezuje zanimanje za sodobno tekstilno umetnost, zato sta se odzvala na povabilo Galerije Alkatraz in združila moci na nacin, ki ga nismo pricakovali. Prvenstveno je bila razstava mišljena kot skupinska razstava dveh umetnikov, ki se tekstilij lotevata vsak s svojim pristopom. A umetnika sta se povezala in pripravila svoj koncept v dialogu drug z drugim, ki ni samo umetniški, ampak pravzaprav tudi kuratorski. Tako se razstava nahaja med skupinsko in samostojno razstavo, saj sta za ta projekt postala tandem, ki se dopolnjuje v izvedbi skupne avtorske postavitve. Glavni motiv razstave bodo tekstilni portreti z zasukom. V sklopu dogovarjanja sta se namrec lotila še eksperimenta: umetnika sta izmenjala obrise oz. šablone lastnih obrazov z namenom, da vsak razišce identiteto drugega le na podlagi njegovega dela, ki je javno dostopno ter ustvari tekstilni portret soavtorja. Dogovorila sta se, da o delu v nastajanju ne bosta izmenjavala informacij, zato ne poznata rezultatov dela partnerja. Z lastnim tekstilnim portretom se bosta prvic soocila šele na otvoritvi razstave. Lahko se sicer vprašamo kaj bo zares nastalo? Morda bosta preko portretov ustvarila zgolj projekcijo lastnih predstav. Drugi bi bil torej tukaj le filter s pomocjo katerega se namesto resnicnosti kaže jaz. Razstava bo prizorišce soocenja razlicnih nazorov in pogledov na tekstilno umetnost, obenem pa tudi nekakšen dialog dveh umetnikov z raznolikimi izkušnjami. Obcinstvo bo tako imelo možnost opazovanja dveh zelo razlicnih slogov tekstilne umetnosti. Medtem ko Ermenc uporablja svoje vezenine kot pripomocek pri obravnavi tem neugodja in refleksije osebnih izkušenj s pomocjo satire in v svojem širšem (modnem) delu prevprašuje družbeno dolocanje vrednosti in vidnosti ne-modnih in ne-popularnih posameznikov, se Bejšovec raje osredotoca na portretiranje kontroverznih oseb iz zgodovine in politike v upanju na vzpostavitev konfliktnih situacij v politicnem, ne osebnem smislu. Poskus Bejšovca in Ermenca prikazuje nenavadno pestrost sodobne tekstilne umetnosti.