Maksim Azarkevič, Ana Baraga, Tjaša Bon, Maša Bornšek, Evia Brvar Ravnikar, Sabina Colnar, Vitjan Črešnar Štaus, Miha Erič, Peter Ferlan, Nina Kavzar, Samira Kentrič, Danaja Kurnik, Anja Kranjc, Maja Lesjak Gavriloska, Nea Likar, Hana Nekrep, Arjan Pregl, Marko Rop, Meta Šolar, Maruša Štibelj, Žana Šuran, Tinka Mesec Tomazin, Iva Tratnik, Dalibor Bori Zupančič, Sara Žičkar, Jernej Žumer

You are kindly invited to the opening of the exhibition Pleasure – A Dreamscape at the 5th Festival of Erotic Illustration – Velvet on Thursday, 5 December at 19:00 at the Račka Gallery.

Pleasure, a word that evokes happiness, relaxation, devotion to the moment, ecstasy and satisfaction, has, over the centuries, acquired burdens that continually transform its connotations into a battleground. To desire is a precursor to pleasure. Waiting and hoping for the moment when the ordinary unfolds into something greater, perceived in the breadth of our consciousness as barely earthly, yet entirely human. Socrates argued that desire must be deferred in the name of a higher ideal, but what could we understand as an ideal higher than pleasure, if it requires a symbiosis between all our senses, a connection between thought, emotion and body? Sexual pleasure in particular – an intrinsic part of our lives – has too often been transformed throughout history into a philosophical concept that questions morality, purpose and gender roles. Reduced to a by-product of reproduction, it has become, for women in particular, an imposed shame, the original sin. Numerous psychologists, inspired by Freudian psychoanalysis, have argued that women should only reach orgasm through vaginal penetration by a man – thus, they should not claim pleasure as their own. By taking this into consideration, men are also deprived of an understanding of pleasure as a comprehensive whole and encouraged to perceive their fellow man in a selfish way. Hand in hand with this ideology, all pleasure is perceived as a rare reward, not a state of mind and an equal interplay of energies of the persons involved in the creation of the sensation. The artists featured at Velvet 5 demonstrate a profound understanding of the relationship between physicality and the mentality of pleasure, while simultaneously dismantling outdated thought patterns in the process. The illustrations counteract outdated but still present sexual stereotypes, highlight the fluidity of gender and sexuality, explore the parallels between the human and the plant and animal world, reflect on desire – its carnality and subtlety – and, through all of this, maintain a balance between personal expression and social relevance. Some of the illustrations bring to the fore the inevitable motif of genitalia and erogenous zones, others present pleasure on a metaphysical, spiritual level. However, in both cases, there is a reciprocal interplay in the conceptual starting point, signalling that one activates the other. Pleasure is presented as bizarre, spiritual, incomprehensible and abstract, or as utterly mundane, down-to-earth and even humorous. The truth is that pleasure is all of these things – it creates a hierarchy up which we ascend for the purpose of unravelling a complex phenomenon that we simultaneously perceive as a necessity and an ideal, but often cannot understand all its levers and manifestations on a rational level. Whether they use the motif of pleasure as a collective or individual state, the artists are intense and unrestricted in their expressiveness, which shows that the very reflection on the visual representation of pleasure leads to pleasure. Both extremes: the fantasy interpretation and the realistic statement, are equally necessary in the visual art in order to be able to talk about sexuality without pretence and to embrace all its often absurd, but always interesting nuances. Perhaps the most difficult thing to acknowledge, with all the burdens that the subject of sexuality carries, is that it represents an extraordinarily diverse landscape that we all want to explore without avoidance, inhibitions or signposts, as we do with the landscapes we encounter in our dreams. Desire is always subjectively layered, pleasure is always individual yet intensified when shared. Reaching moments where we create a safe space for the letting go of inhibitions is an art in itself, and also a conscious practice that requires dismantling surviving frames and building trust – in oneself and in others. The long process is not only a personal journey, but also a look at the generations before us, who have often been trapped in limited notions of personal freedom. With this in mind, pleasure is not a natural part of life, but a radical act. Achieving a state in which we can fully understand and feel it encompasses much more than the body itself. It encompasses intimacy, learning, discovery, communication in all its forms, acceptance of difference, curiosity about the unknown. All of this forms the prerequisites for the possibility of authentic expression of one’s own desires, along with an empathetic acceptance of the desires of others. Above all, what is essential is courage, the kind that allows us to dive into the essence of the landscapes that can never be forbidden to us, as they always await our uncompromisingly free entry into ecstasy.

Sara Nuša Golob Grabner

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Production: Zavod Celeia Celje – Center For Contemporary Arts
Artistic Director of the Festival: Nea Likar
Exhibition organisation: Maja Antončič, Nea Likar
Text: Sara Nuša Golob Grabner
Support: Municipality of Celje