❤️🔥KRES 2.0❤️🔥
osmo/za, Slovenska cesta 54, 1000 LJubljana, Slovenia
30 April – 23 May 2025
The fiery spirit of digital unity
Exhibition opening: 30 April at 19:00
Exhibition dates: 30 April–23 May | 15:00–19:00
Closed on 16 May, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays!
Artists: Beti Frim, Brin Žvan & Mathias Schifter, Celeste Sanja & Jure Sulič, Farah Sara Kurnik,
Jaka Juhant, knnz (Neža Knez), Matej Mihevc, Neo Nor, Uno.Tisto, Vid Koprivšek
This year we return to osmo/za, where we will light the Kres (bonfire) on the eve of Labour Day. Gather with us around the hearth at 19:00 to welcome the arrival of spring, reignite community spirits and illuminate shadowy visions of Slovenian emerging digital art once more.
Has the optimism of the future burned down, while the anxious flashes of capitalism envelop our every second? In the spirit of the tradition of lighting bonfires on the night before International Workers’ Day, the artists in the exhibition are reclaiming the symbolisms of bygone traditions and reawakening the long-dead ghosts of solidarity, collectivism, and workers’ rights. They form a united front, questioning their own position and ways of coping in the age of hustle mentality, the disparities between rural and urban cultural backdrops, the current economic conditions and the prevalence of individualism in the light of technological development and our dependence on digital media. Join us for the ritualistic activation of the works in which the artists warn us about the traps of work-hard-play-hard mindset and self-help influencers and dream about retirement after a quality burnout all the while encouraging us to envision a brighter future for all.
You can read the curatorial text below and find more information about the project and descriptions of the individual artworks at the link below.
KRES 2.0
The Fiery Spirit of Digital Unity
Has the optimism of the future burned down, while the anxious flashes of capitalism envelop our every second? In the spirit of the tradition of lighting bonfires on the eve of International Workers’ Day, the artists in the exhibition are reclaiming the symbolisms of bygone traditions and reawakening the long-dead ghosts of solidarity, collectivism, and workers’ rights.
Artists form a united front, questioning their own position in the era of hustle and grindset mentalities, individualism, digital alienation, and economic precarity in the light of current technological developments. Their artistic practices are inextricably linked to the internet and digital media, which have shaped their unique relationship to virtual worlds, speculative methods and community involvement. Through experimental video games, immersive 3D environments and interactive websites, they build fictional worlds and narratives, create visions of collective futures and imagine alternative systems of coexistence.
Kres 2.0 reignites the sparks of early online communities, local and folk traditions, and the history of social movements. The glow of the flames casts shimmering shadows of haunting memories and remnants of the past, an escapist longing for simpler times and hazy speculative outlines of the future, pointing to the possibility of the collapse of existing social constructs and underlining the importance of coming together and connecting.
Join the ritualistic activation of the works in which the artists warn us about the traps of work-hard-play-hard mindset, fantasise about retirement after a quality burnout, celebrate having unapologetic fun, while encouraging us to envision a brighter future for all.
ヽ(*·ᗜ·)ﾉ💥ヽ(·ᗜ·* )ﾉ🔥ヽ(*·ᗜ·)ﾉ💥ヽ(·ᗜ·* )ﾉ🔥ヽ(*·ᗜ·)ﾉ💥ヽ(·ᗜ·* )ﾉ🔥ヽ(*·ᗜ·)ﾉ💥ヽ(·ᗜ·* )ﾉ
Colophon
KRES 2.0
The fiery spirit of digital unity
30 April–23 May
osmo/za, Ljubljana, SI
Curated by: Sara Bezovšek, Lara Mejač, Dorijan Šiško
Production: Projekt Atol Institute
Thanks to: PiNA – Association for Culture and Education, Youth Center Velenje, MKC Maribor, Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory
Technical assistance: Oskar Kandare, Aleksander Tendjer, Valter Udovičić
Supported by: the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the City of Ljubljana