Polona Poklukar / Abovebeyond
POLONA POKLUKAR / Abovebeyond / Hat Polyforms
UGM Studio, Trg Leona Štuklja 2, Maribor, ground floor
Opening: Friday, 16 December 2016, at 19:00
In her creative work, Polona Poklukar addresses the redefinition of everyday objects or attributes that constitute the individual's 'natural' environment and reflect the social space. The hat is one such object; it is resonant, tuned in with the cultural codes of a certain period, an object reminiscent of the past, and a catalyst of the (non-)uniformity of the present. The exhibition Abovebeyond presents 17 objects/hats, reflecting the exciting discovery of almost forgotten arts and crafts combined with the artist's own exploration into design. Velispo, Rubando baroko, Orejeras, Funebro and other polymorph objects entitled in Esperanto are above and beyond all definitions framing this cult fashion accessory. "The hat is no longer a cultural code; its sense is embedded in the appropriated non-verbal expression of feelings that arouse and address us." (Polona Poklukar)
Polona Poklukar ponders over the hat being a small sculpture, in which possible harmonious proportions between fullness and emptiness, carried and worn, stability and gravity, etc. arise. The form, volume, and idea of the hat develop on its brim, in contact with the fullness and the emptiness. Hat Polyforms are the methodological continuation of the first series of hats entitled One Cut Bonnet from 2014, when the artist considered a contact with the object, a cut into the ready made form as a way of minimal modelling, triggering a metamorphosis of the hat. The present initial concept is the object's body. Next to a more sensible cut and the folds and lines deriving from it, which shape the relief or the details of the whole, the artist now deals with the hat's crown and its base respectively. Constructions and forms arise from modelling the entire volume and relief of the hat, by intertwining the various traditional and artist-specific design techniques that felt can put up with.
Polona Poklukar (b. 1975, Ljubljana) graduated in Fine Art from Maribor Faculty of Education (2004) and in Illustration and Graphic Art from Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design (2001). Her fields of creative work include product design, scenography, illustration, and spatial installation. She has presented her works at various exhibitions and festivals at home and abroad. She is the co-founder of the Maribor Salon of Applied Arts, an independent centre of urban cultures exhibiting and selling works created by local artists. She designs jewellery, hats, lamps etc. under the label Polona Poklukar. In 2014, she was awarded in the category of Fashion and Product Design at the Ljubljana Month of Design festival. She lives and works in Maribor.
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