“If I can’t change the world, at least I want to change the way people look at it.”
The aim of Duša Jesih’s art is to provide a critical overview of our social, cultural, and political spheres in a somewhat unconventional, trendy manner. Rather than focusing on any political engagement, she is interested in the self-reflection of the phenomenon of alienation, as it paradoxically goes hand in hand with globalization. With “as few words as possible” in a minimalist “gestalt” language, which allows for some artistic expression and room for each individual’s world, she tries to transform the whole into a hybrid of a warning (traffic) sign and an icon. The artist’s view on the final work revolves around a harmonious relationship with space, perhaps a very clear and brutal concrete surface in the full seriousness of “beauty in silence”.
Duša Jesih (1977) graduated in painting from the School of Visual Arts in Ljubljana, where she also completed her master’s degree in painting three years later. In 2006–2007, Jesih furthered her studies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. In 2012, she enrolled in the master’s program at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana and received the Student Prešeren Award in 2015. She lives in Ljubljana.
Artwork: In Transition