You are kindly invited to the opening of the exhibition on Saturday, 21 June, at 7 pm!
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Artists: Enar de Dios Rodríguez, Gjorgji Despodov, Jaione Cerrato, Klelija Živković, Lara Reichmann
Curators: Ilija Prokopiev, Marija Hristova (PrivatePrint Studio)
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Exhibition events
21. 6., 18.00: Viewing of the exhibition with the artists and the exhibition curators
23. 6. 17.30: Enar de Dios Rodríguez, Jaione Cerrato | Artist Talk and Book Presentation
22. 7. 18.00: Final viewing of the exhibition with the exhibition curators
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A Bright Past Is Ahead of Us explores the unsettling concept of generational promises – ideals and beliefs passed down through lineage that bind us to expectations we may neither trust nor identify with. Using the theory of fairy tale narrative codes as a curatorial pretext, the exhibition features work by five artists, Enar de Dios Rodríguez, Gjorgji Despodov, Jaione Cerrato, Klelija Živković and Lara Reichmann, who envision narratives that challenge our understanding of human and social relations. Set in a semi-darkened space that masks unease, the exhibition contrasts fantastical and poetic elements with stark political, environmental and economic realities. It becomes a site for layered reflection and dialogue, guided by speculative design and documentary methodologies.
Fairy tales articulate the relationship between narrator and audience through shared narrative codes that define the genre. According to Roland Barthes’ structural analysis, mastery over these codes determines the effectiveness of the storyteller. The narrator’s role is not merely to invent stories but to skilfully navigate the established codes in dialogue with the audience. In doing so, fairy tales reflect human psychology and societal values, nurturing identification in people and reinforcing ideals such as the notion of “happily ever after”. Passed down through generations, they preserve shared values and strengthen communal bonds.
Fairy tales offer a safe space contained by the promise that good will triumph over evil as long as the lesson is learned. The narrative arc, framed by “once upon a time” and “happily ever after” provides a reassuring sense of order. Psychologists argue that the darkness inside these endpoints is essential as it provides a symbolic confrontation with fear. Yet, the fairy tale remains a protected space, anchored by faith in a positive outcome. Without that faith, the fairy tale mirrors real-life uncertainty: the hero may falter and the danger may not be overcome. This, in turn, raises a deeper question: what are the contours of uncertainty in a world where “happily ever after” is no longer a sufficient answer?
A Bright Past Is Ahead of Us confronts the shattered promise of a bright future passed down through generations in the face of contemporary challenges such as human rights violations, wars, environmental crises and economic upheavals. The featured artists, representing diverse backgrounds, guide us through narratives that examine reality through interdisciplinary, research-driven and collaborative practices, framing the present as a space of both anxiety and responsibility and a catalyst for breaking the codes of inert behaviour.
Enar de Dios Rodríguez interrogates the physical and conceptual politics of space, revealing the infrastructures and ideologies that shape our sense of ownership, freedom and belonging. In her video essay Above All, she turns her gaze skyward, challenging the romantic notion of the sky as boundless and untouched. Instead, she exposes it as a contested zone – occupied, surveilled and exploited. Through poetic narration and layered visuals, Rodríguez resists linear storytelling, favouring fragmentation to provoke reflection on access, the commons and systems that shape our environments.
Gjorgji Despodov explores memory, material culture and speculative futures. His practice critiques societal norms and digital overconsumption, questioning what we preserve or discard and the legacy we leave behind. In Where I Post From, Despodov reimagines technology as an artefact of the future. Through 3D-printed forms and fictional archives, he examines how data-driven societies construct meaning and heritage, prompting us to reconsider the roles and values passed to future generations.
Jaione Cerrato’s practice critically examines how we frame, aestheticise and distance ourselves from nature. Rooted in ecological thought and speculative futures, her work challenges the anthropocentric gaze that reduces nature to image, symbol or resource. In Framed, Cerrato exposes our paradoxical desire to protect and control the natural world, questioning the aestheticisation embedded in everyday visual culture. Through minimal imagery and poetic text, she invites reflection on our place within a living, interdependent system in transformation.
Klelija Živković’s art practice explores aliveness as a radical form of resistance – an embodied response to systems of oppression, inherited shame and emotional suppression. Her work invites us to see aliveness not as a given but as a skill: something to be learned, nurtured and shared. Through her works, Živković constructs spaces where emotional truths are both confronted and transformed. She offers a language of resilience – one grounded in emotion, collectivity and the quiet power of staying present in a world that often demands disconnection.
Lara Reichmann analyses how marginalised bodies – especially women’s – are transformed within systems of labour, science and technology. Merging historical fact with speculative fiction, she reveals how essential contributions are overlooked or mechanised. In Disposable Bodies, she reflects on the Women Astronomical Computers, using metaphor and poetic narrative to question who is remembered and how bodies become disposable in data-centric systems.
The works featured in the exhibition explore questions of the future and inherited promises, each offering a distinct perspective. By embracing uncertainty, the exhibition invites viewers to question familiar narratives, break away from entrenched patterns, and actively shape a more conscious and hopeful future.
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Enar de Dios Rodríguez (1986) is a visual artist based in Vienna, Austria, whose research-based projects reflect on the production of space and its sociopolitical and environmental implications. In her art practice, the selective process of existing visual and textual material is a starting point for exploring the poetic and its political applicability. Her audiovisual works have been presented at numerous film festivals.
Gjorgji Despodov (1996) is a multidisciplinary artist based in The Hague, Netherlands, whose practice is located at the intersection of physical and digital environments by using storytelling with familiar objects that serve as an extension of his personal experiences. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Non-Linear Narrative at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
Jaione Cerrato (1988) is a visual artist with a background in graphic design, based in Berlin, Germany. Her practice is channelled through individual work and collaborations, one of which is the duo Cerrato–Halls, focusing on the concept of value and its creation in contemporary society. She has worked with independent collectives and contributed to various institutions to generate meaningful discussion.
Klelija Živković (1989) is a transdisciplinary artist based in Skopje, North Macedonia. Formally trained across several design disciplines, her work is a theoretical, material and experiential inquiry into boundaries – these physical, psychological, emotional or spiritual barriers that we construct to help us understand ourselves as spatial beings and provide an interface for engagement with our surroundings.
Lara Reichmann (1995) is a video and animation artist based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her work often draws on stories of forgotten, erased or indefinable places and characters that exist on the margins of archived history. Her recent projects focus on digital interfaces, glitches and time lapses through which parallel virtual landscapes of satellite imagery are constructed.
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English proofreading: Arven Šakti Kralj
Slovene proofreading: Inge Pangos
Cover image: Ilija Prokopiev (PrivatePrint)
Brochure design: Lea Jelenko
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The exhibition is co-produced with PrivatePrint.
The participation of Spanish artists Enar de Dios Rodríguez and Jaione Cerrato is kindly supported by the Spanish Embassy in Ljubljana – Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
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The Škuc Gallery programme is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Ljubljana.
