The solo exhibition Repressed Memory presents photographic self-portraits in which the artist Goran Turnšek impersonates his late grandfather and grandmother, in their old garments and self-built home in Zabovci. Through this act, Turnšek explores the influences his grandparents (a tailor and a housewife) have exerted on his life and career. His performances are a way of expressing mourning as well as exploring gender roles and a disappearing rural lifestyle. Turnšek draws on his professional dance experience to express movement and gesture. After his series Jakob, in which Turnšek can be seen wearing his grandfather’s old suit and performing daily tasks, he returned to Zabovci a few years later to also perform Marija. This series explores his feminine side, as repressed by social norms, and is also inspired by the mask Orači and Baba, custom of men dressing in female clothing. Whereas the Jakob series was shot by a camera on a tripod, Turnšek played his grandmother as if she were taking selfies. He wanted the Marija series to be more modern and topical, referring to the irony of Instagram culture as well as the joy he always shared with his grandmother.
Date: 1 December 2022 – 29 January 2023
Place: Mihelič gallery, Ptuj, Slovenia
Mihelič gallery is part of Reginal Museum Ptuj-Ormož (PMPO) hosting exhibitions and cultural events.