Curator
Mateja Podlesnik
In his multifaceted visual-sound project in two parts, Arjan Pregl problematises the dialogic relationship between image and the written word. The first part of the exhibition consists of 299 ballpoint pen drawings on A4 format, which combine motifs from art history and literature and, of course, “hair”, as hairiness is present in every drawing. We are presented with images of objects, various animals, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic creatures through writers, philosophers, artists, musicians, directors, actors, biblical figures from the Old and New Testaments, be it Moses, Jesus or Satan, Pregl’s self-portraits in all phases of his beardedness, attractive female nudes in provocative poses with hairy crotches, playboy bunnies, old women, old men and hermaphrodites, to a wide variety of linguistic discourses in the guise of symbolic depictions and allusions, perhaps also to the human “hairy conscience”. The second part of the Broad Bean Bob exhibition is related to the visual-audio representation of the transfer of language into an image in the context of homonymous linguistic phenomena. The installation consists of smaller images on paper and videos. Accompanying the voices of foreign actors who repeat words in their own language, i.e. in English, and simultaneously explain what is depicted in the drawing and, of course, speak “Slovene”, we enter on an allusive level a school classroom with teaching aids.
The 299 Hairy Ones project is altered and complemented with the help of visitors to the exhibition. At the first presentation of the project, in Mestna galerija 2 in Ljubljana and Maribor, visitors are invited to buy drawings (30 euros), and then to propose a furry motif of their own on a blank sheet of paper. The artist then draws the desired motif and returns it to the place of the purchased drawing. Thus, the exhibition changes from day to day according to the wishes of its visitors. The work-in-progress will be completed when all original drawings are replaced with new ones. The artist’s 'vision' will therefore be replaced by the audience’s 'vision'. You can also follow the development of the project on Arjan Pregl’s blog: http://299kosmatih2. blog. siol. net/.
Arjan Pregl (1973) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana in 1998. In 2001, he obtained his master's degree in painting at the same institution. He attended IUP Indiana University of Pennsylvania (USA) in the last semester of his master's degree. He then enrolled in a master's degree in graphics, completing it in 2004. He works in the fields of painting, graphics, illustration, and design. He has received several awards for his work. Pregl lives and works in Ljubljana.
The exhibition was organised by the Museums and Galleries of Ljubljana, the City Art Gallery Ljubljana
