The artistic practice of Ajda Podgorelec has, over the past few exhibitions in various gallery spaces, revolved around a constantly evolving project pertaining to the so-called Prasice (Bitches); these are essentially textile objects or artworks based on the artist’s face – or, more precisely, the repetitive documentation of her own image.
The reasons for producing the Bitches stem from the artist’s desire to shift the burden of dealing with her own appearance onto the artworks themselves. While the desire or idea of successfully overcoming this burden failed, the compulsive need for production persisted, resulting in unique textile objects cleverly yet consciously named Bitches. At the same time, the artist is motivated and simultaneously paralysed by a desire for reliable control. The latter constantly slips through her fingers, demanding even more additional work. This work is often intangible, carried out in the sphere of reflection and constant introspection, and over time represents nothing more than an obsession, a burden, or a meaningless imperative. The very structure of the work and its sheer volume repeatedly subordinate the artist’s life.
In light of the gendered appearance of the work and the sector in which it exists, the author also proceeds from the premise that legitimate and valid art (or the artist herself) is only that into which a sufficient amount of hard work is invested. Consequently, the constant and obsessive production of these Bitches results not only in the in-depth contextualisation, exhibition, and storage of physical artworks and a renewed constructive observation of her own work, but also in exhaustion, general oversaturation, and heightened, crippling feelings of doubt and uncertainty.
How can one justify one’s own existence and activity and avoid piling on even more work, whilst acutely solving the problem in question? The artist decides on a somewhat radical but the only possible step: she transfers the obligation of continuous labour to the exhibition visitors. She entrusts the production of original artworks and work tasks into the hands of a third party – a consumer unburdened by the genesis of the conceptualised Bitches. They take on the burden of production, allowing the artist a break.
The kits for making Bitches and the toys placed in the space offer the viewer-player-consumer an entry point for co-creating potential solutions to the artist’s problems, which she herself recreates in a way within existing oppressive systems. The exhibition My Turn offers entry points for potential change, where the artist can, with the help of a third party, devise new ways to maintain autonomy and further explore possibilities for a final rest.
Ajda Podgorelec (2000) is an intermedia artist and painter working at the intersection of the expanded fields of painting, photography, and performance. In her work, she explores the realm of identity as visual production established through the hyperproduction of facial imagery, as well as the associated identity of the artist and her positioning or presentation within the systems in which she operates. In 2022, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Ljubljana (UL ALUO), where she is currently completing her Master’s degree. Her work has been featured in several group exhibitions, including at DobraVaga Gallery, Mala galerija Banke Slovenije, Stolp Photo Gallery in Maribor, Ptuj City Gallery, and Media Nox Gallery. She has also held two solo exhibitions (Grain by Grain, Potica; Stitch by Stitch, Bitch, Plečnik’s Kiosk, 2026, and (Self)portraits, E2RD Gallery, 2022). Additionally, she participated in the accompanying exhibition of the 14th Graphic Biennial IMPORT/EXPORT in Poznań. In 2022, she received the UL ALUO award for her artistic works and theoretical reflection in her diploma thesis, (Self)portraits.
Curated by: Maša Žekš
Free admission.
7. 4.–30. 4. 2026
Organisation: DobraVaga / Kino Šiška.
