We open the doors of Sternschuppen for a shattering confrontation with the fluidity of time and that false sense of permanence in our lives. Curated by Ana Tomić, the exhibition “TEMPERMANENT”, following its grand opening on 19 March, calls us to question that heavy feeling of stagnation we are currently experiencing.
This exhibition slaps us in the face with how permanent things, situations, and habits feel — and the truth that none of them actually are.
The Anatomy of Waiting
As soon as you step into the exhibition space, that familiar and melancholic manifesto begins to echo in your mind:
“I wake up every day waiting for something to happen. Staying here another year in the current state of things would be foolish; and yet… Something, something, budget cuts…”
The artists Lena Kocutar, Matrijaršija, Sofija Pašalić, and Jelisaveta Rapaić make this feeling of being stuck almost visible and tangible. As you move among the works, you feel the weight of those loaded possessions we cannot bring ourselves to throw away — the ones we say, “They should at least get rid of some of these.” Every corner of the gallery feels like a reflection of those grey, hesitant stages of life where learning something new takes time, where one has already learned how to work, and is no longer “the youngest.”
Transience Made Visible
On the surface, everything looks extremely solid, heavy, and unchanging. Yet with the artists’ subtle touches, you realise that the order we trust so much, the habits we cannot give up, and the materials we cannot discard are actually a fragile and “temporary” illusion. The works gently pull us out of our familiar comfort zone, planting the doubt in our minds: “Did we forget something else?” “TEMPERMANENT” is a melancholic yet deeply liberating experience that whispers that everything we thought was permanent is actually a weight created by our own minds.
