The opening of the exhibition "Overheard" will take place on May 6th at 6:00 PM in the Water Tower.

Viktorija Potočnik and Brane Širca are a creative duo whose artistic narratives—woven within the realm of existentially charged figuration—have serendipitously connected them. Their images draw attention to those whom society has forgotten, overlooked, or failed to hear. A deep empathy connects both artists, mirrored in their desire for every individual to find meaning—only then can society truly live in harmony.

The viewer, positioned in the midst of the spatial exhibition installation, easily connects with the presented theme. It seems that even by their physical presence, they become one of the portrayed, which serves as an effective entry point for identification. The multitude of silent figures by Viktorija Potočnik and Brane Širca patiently awaits the moment when a wave of compassion awakens within us, and the voices of the invisible, unheard, and forgotten are stirred.

Curator: Irma Brodnjak Firbas

Viktorija Potočnik, a former parliamentarian, mayor, educator, and humanitarian, has in recent years transformed her engaged voice into a visual language. Initially expressing herself through drawing and printmaking, she later embraced sculpture more intensely. She chose clay as her medium—a material native to her home region of Prlekija. Her elegant, manneristically elongated female figures convey a wide spectrum of emotions—through their trance-like and vulnerable expressions, we sense loneliness, sadness, despair, as well as resistance, perseverance, courage, and hope. These female figures emerge individually or in pairs, and in exhibitions, they appear as a united crowd defending human dignity. Among Potočnik’s many sculptures, we also find torsos, while ruptures—experienced as wounds—form a significant part of her recent work, metaphorically pointing to burnout and spiritual emptiness. Yet in this hollowness lies the potential for new content and fresh approaches, particularly as a rejection of banality and superficiality.

Brane Širca is known as a distinctly socially engaged artist whose painting, graphic, and sculptural cycles show a remarkable sensitivity to societal imbalances. The inspiration for his painting series Parisian Silhouettes (2017) came during his stay at the Paris studio of the Association of Slovene Fine Artists. His artworks are based on photographic documentation of the anonymous crowds populating the streets, boulevards, and squares of the French capital. Through the lens, Širca captured not only the lively rhythm of urban life but also its less pleasant sides, reflecting a reality steeped in consumerist logic. This existential layering lies at the core of his visual inquiry. He transferred the images onto large paper surfaces, using inflatable paper bags—typically used for product protection during transport—as carriers. The resulting anonymous figures appear frozen in time and space. He depicts them as white silhouettes (symbolizing spiritual devaluation) or black ones (symbolizing existential weight), while the strong, poster-like color stripes introduce a consumerist aesthetic into the works.

Once again, the viewer standing within the installation is easily touched by the theme, becoming part of the portrayed crowd—a powerful point of entry into the emotional world of the unheard. The silent figures of Viktorija Potočnik and Brane Širca patiently wait for compassion to be awakened in us, and for the voice of the invisible, unheard, and forgotten to speak.