Center for Contemporary Arts CSU

Velvet 4 – House of Erotic Illustration
Naked Stories: history, mythology and storytelling
Festival of Erotic Illustration

Ana Baraga, Tjaša Bon, Matija Cipurić, Bojana Dimitrovski, Peter Ferlan, Sara Filipovič, Maja Gorjup, Maja Horvat, Vesna Kreže Lenić, Nea Likar, Matija Medved, Tomaž Milač, Eva Mlinar, Hana Nekrep, Maja Poljanc, Sara Vidmajer, Mojca Senegačnik, Meta Šolar, Romeo Štrakl, Žana Šuran, Dalibor Bori ZZupančič, Sara Žičkar, Jernej Žumer

You are kindly invited to the opening of the 4th edition of the Festival of Erotic Illustration – Velvet 4 on Saturday, 14 October at 19:00 at the Račka Gallery.

Narrative(s) of Sexuality as a Means of Reminding

The connective tissue of human societies consists of stories through which shared meanings and interpretations of existence are created – both of humans and ”non-human” animals and plants. Sexuality and eroticism have appeared as a theme and motif, but also as a means of reminding us of social categories – such as social gender¬¬ – since the origins of the first religions, myths and stories. Polytheistic belief systems are thus familiar, for example, with goddesses of love, such as Aphrodite in the Greek pantheon, to whom attributes were frequently added, often including plants and non-human animals – such as bees and honey in the case of Aphrodite. On the other hand, the merging of different forms of existence, such as human and animal, has often generated mythical beings in history, specifically associated with sexuality, such as satyrs. Through religion, man has introduced sexualisation into his relationship to his living environment (e.g. Sodom and Gomorrah). In a diverse range of artworks, Velvet 4 explores the various ways in which sexuality can be found in mythology, literature, and stories. It also questions how these images dictate our (even contemporary) attitudes towards the body and sexuality. Both mythology and religion, as well as storytelling, serve as means for generating meaning, perspectives, and the relationship that society – and individuals – cultivate towards a particular theme. Through artistic expression, Velvet 4 explores the quality and nature of these perspectives through visual expression; among them, the issue of women and female sexuality is once again significant, being revealed thourgh mythology, coupled with the theme of eroticism, in its (eternal) lack of liberation. In Christian mythology, for instance, female sexuality was often literally demonised. Women, labeled as witches were, on the one hand, attributed sexual relations with the devile and demons, and on the other hand torture devices were invented – and used – to mutilate the sexual organs of these women. Velvet 4 seeks to address problematic references and characters with some of the works presented, sometimes by linking such motifs with those of demonised real or mythological ”non humans”, such as dragons. Through a very diverse range of visual works, the exhibition thus outlines the broad spectrum played by sexuality in mythology and critically defines the meanings that are generated about sexuality, women and nature through (mythological) storytelling. As a result, it offers works that associate women and non-human animals or mythological creatures, such as the kitsune – supernatural foxes in Japanese mythology – with mystery, magic, pleasure, sweetness and inspiration. On the other hand, it also shows the problematic and dark side of these images by exploring how women are reduced to muses in social reality, and their sexuality is only socially acceptable as long as it is soft, sweet and “flowery” (some works specifically point to the problematic fusion of female sexuality and plants, and the anthropomorphisation or objectification of plants). By showing how often women and non-human animals and plants are intertwined in mythology, and by exploring the nature and qualities of these pairings, Velvet 4 itself creates a meta-narrative out of the stories it addresses visually, the ways in which oppressive attitudes towards female sexuality and other beings are also shaped in contemporary societies through narratives that are shared and handed down from generation to generation, and in what ways ideas about the (in)acceptability of sexual expression are simultaneously shared.

Anja Radaljac