Vesna Bukovec is one of the artists who critically respond to the burning issues of contemporary society. Her projects, complete in terms of content, deal with the consequences of neoliberal ideology, consumerist oriented society, socio-political reality in Slovenia, the role of women in contemporary society and the refugee crisis.

The exhibition consists of a series of drawings that – in terms of content – summarize a large part of the artists body of work. In the cycle Do you not want me, because I’m critical (2012) the artist exposes the stereotypical role of women in today’s society. In the cycle At whose expense (2015), she raises the questions of consumerism as the central cultural practice of modern times and its adverse impact on living organisms and the environment. The triptych of colour drawings entitled Not in my name (2016) deals in detail with the xenophobic relationship of wider Slovenian public and politics in relation to migrants who massively crossed Slovenian borders. Her latest cycle of drawings And yet I do bother (2019) is some kind of an answer to the passivity and lack of empathy of the wider society for the anguish of others. The central theme of her drawings is represented by images of brave women from the 20th century history and contemporary time who fought and are still fighting for social changes as well as against social, political and sexual inequalities, from the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst to the Swedish activist for climatic changes Greta Thunberg. Images of women protesters that according to the artist became “a symbol of the fight against oppression” create hope that the world can be changed. Hope defines Vesna Bukovec’s newest work Cyclists are Coming (2020) – a homage to the sculpture of the female motorcyclist by Duba Sambolec from 1976 entitled Women are Coming – the first Slovenian feminist artwork.
(Source: the text by the curator Nataša Kovšca for online presentation of the video)

Exhibition catalogue (pdf)