Tajda Stiplovšek-Jug
based in Slovenia
Contact:
tajda.s.j@gmail.com
Artist statement:
My artistic practice explores the internal structures and processes that shape our world, focusing on the processes of preservation, transformation and fossilisation. I am interested in the relationship between surface and interior, between the appearance of environments, objects and beings, and the processes that give rise to them. In doing so, I draw on a critique of the perspective that often understands the interior solely through its exterior, thereby highlighting the limitations of the representations we form of the world. By studying these processes, I connect contexts that are usually treated as separate – natural, industrial, technological and social. This approach aims to move beyond an anthropocentric understanding of the world and emphasises the interdependence of living beings, materials, technologies and environments, whilst raising questions of responsibility for the traces we leave behind in society, the environment and other forms of life. By drawing analogies with processes occurring in nature, industry and art, I explore ways of reversing the relationship between humans and nature – not how humans utilise nature, but how natural processes can transform industry, technology and other human-made objects, including works of art. I arrive at these starting points through an exploration of the concepts of functionality, usability, damage and transformation. Consequently, my works in their final form often suggest a specific functionality and potential for use. Rather than having a single, unambiguous function, they open up various possibilities for the use of the artwork, thereby suggesting transformation and the transcendence of the boundaries of established contexts.
Education:
2022: Graduated at Academy of Fine Arts and design Ljubljana (Akademija za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje Ljubljana) Sculpture class
2021: Erasmus+ student mobility at Art University Linz (Kunstuniversität Linz) Sculpture and Transmedial Space class (5 months)
2022/2023: Erasmus+ student mobility at Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig) Space and Installation class (5 months)
2025: Culterim Independent Class in Berlin, Germany (5 months)
Exhibitions:
2022: Group exhibition »Melting« at Alkatraz gallery, Ljubljana
2021: Group exhibition »Primavera« in GT22 gallery in the context of DLUM (Društvo likovnih umetnikov Maribor), Maribor
2023: participation at the Lightening Guerilla Festival with a group project by students of Sculptural department of Academy of Fine art and Design Ljubljana, Ljubljana
2024: Solo exhibition »The Messenger« at Tkalka gallery, Maribor
2024: Solo exhibition »Treida« at P74 gallery, Ljubljana
2025: Medditerranea Young Artist Biennale (»Borderless«), Nova Gorica / Gorizia
2025: Group exhibition »Wit Power. Climate protection instead of fake news« at Global Group 3000 Gallery, Berlin
2025: Group exhibition »Premiera 2025« at Center of Contemporary Art Celje
2025: Solo exhibition »Refrigerator as exhibition space« at Tkalka Gallery, Maribor
2026: Group exhibition »Who has it« in the Layer house, Kranj
2026: OHO Group award nominee's exhibition at P74 gallery, Ljubljana
Scholarships and awards:
2025: Scholarship for specialised professions abroad (Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia)
2026: Nomination for the OHO Group Award