Exhibition: Viral Self-Portraits (Online Group Exhibition)

Location: MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART METELKOVA

Dates: May 15 – December 31, 2020

Organized by: Zdenka Badovinac 

Curators: Afiaty Riksa, Zdenka Badovinac, Ekaterina Degot, Tandazani Dhlakama, Galit Eilat, Charles Esche, iLiana Fokianaki, Boris Groys, Hou Hanru, Vít Havránek, Koyo Kouoh, Pablo Lafuente, Tammy Langtry, Maria Lind, Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez, Bojana Piškur, Tjaša Pogačar, Igor Španjol, Mabel Tapia, Christine Tohme, Abhijan Toto, Jelena Vesić, Raluca Voinea, WHW

Exhibiting Artists: Julian Togar Abraham, Mounira Al Solh, Maria Thereza Alves, Nika Autor, Gaain Baahc, Babi Badalov, Djordje Balmazović, Denilson Baniwa, Jože Barši, Marko Batista, Richard Bell, Mona Benyamin, Olivia Botha, Sergey Bratkov, Tony Chakar, Olga Chernysheva, Virginia Chihota, nora chipaumire and Ari Marcopoulos, Claudiu Cobilanschi, Eduard Constantin, Anna Daucikova, Državljanska akcija [Civic Action], Jimmie Durham, Germano Dushá, Goran Đorđević, Lenka Đorojević, Ali Eyal, Vadim Fiškin, Jule Flierl, Andreas Maria Fohr, Jošt Franko, Quinsy Gario, Noa Giniger, Igor Grubić, Jusuf Hadžifejzović, Nika Ham, Michal Heiman, Thomas Hirschhorn, Maja Hodošček, Ištvan Išt Huzjan, Siniša Ilić, IRWIN, Iman Issa, Sanja Iveković, Janez Janša & Janez Janša & Janez Janša, Admire Kamudzengere, Mahmoud Khaled, Jure Kastelic, Olivia Hyunsin Kim/ddanddarakim, Kladnik&Neon, Staš Kleindienst, Meiro Koizumi, Jiří Kovanda, Nina Koželj, Andreja Kulunčić, Matts Leiderstam, Cristiano Lenhardt, Anna López Luna, Mikhail Maksimov, Tuan Mami, Agrippina R. Manhattan, Dalibor Martinis, Olivia Mihaltianu, Albina Mochryakova, Naeem Mohaiemen, Tanja Muravskaja, Ekaterina Muromtseva, Sarah Naqvi, Toos Nijssen, Octora, Ahmet Öğüt, Dimitry Orlač, Ernesto Oroza, Pavel Otdelnov, Prabhakar Pachpute, Iza Pavlina, Vesna Pavlović & Vladimir Jerić Vlidi, Yan Pei-Ming, Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa, Dan Perjovschi, Borut Peterlin, Raluca Popa, Tabita Rezaire, Sallisa Rosa, María Ruido, Jeffrey Shaw, Simona & Ramona (aka Claude & Dersch), Buhlebezwe Siwani, Maja Smrekar, Société Réaliste, Jonas Staal, Ayesha Sultana, Andrej Škufca, Igor Štromajer, Milica Tomić, Isola Tong, Isaac Chong Wai, Otty Widasari, Lin Yilin, Madalina Zaharia, Dion Zeqiri, Arseny Zhilyaev

Vibrant Interior explores the concept of energy as a vital force that animates both human and nonhuman bodies, reflecting on the interconnectedness of life forces within a time of global crisis. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, the work responds to the conditions of isolation, where domestic spaces became sites of heightened awareness of cohabitation with the unseen. The method of video manipulation conjures an interior architecture teeming with uncanny organisms, swelling cellular landscapes, and fluid forms that suggest an interplay between organic and inorganic matter. The work draws from the notion of qi, or a Taoist concept of the animating force, linking microscopic life to larger ecological and cosmic cycles.

In this work, oscillations of movement and stillness are mapped out, exploring how energy manifests across different scales: between individual bodies, collective rhythms, and planetary shifts. The jittering, rhythmic patterns of her visual compositions suggest a negotiation between interior and exterior, between the self and the world, and between the known and the speculative. Referencing scientific and metaphysical understandings of life, Vibrant Interior visually reinterprets microscopic realms, where life forms such as protozoa, fungi, and algae interact in ways that mirror broader ecological entanglements. The work emphasizes the vibrancy of matter and the unseen forces shaping our lived environments.

As part of the Viral Self-Portraits online exhibition (2020), curated by Zdenka Badovinac and a team of international curators, Vibrant Interior contributes to a larger conversation on the shifting nature of subjectivity in an era of crisis. It situates energy not only as a material and biological phenomenon but also as a speculative force that challenges dominant narratives of isolation and control.