Sometime in the middle of the second week of our residency, we visited the studio of Nataša Berk, a Slovenian artist whose work spans performance, photography, video, music, drawing, and found objects. By that point, my brain was operating at roughly forty percent capacity — overstimulated by the day’s many fascinating encounters — but I still managed to snap a photo of one of her pieces. It read: "Imagine a postcard from Maribor."
Something about that line struck a chord. So I took it as an invitation — and decided to create a few postcards from Maribor and Ljubljana myself.
Postcard no.1: A Bench in the Pekarna Parking Lot
This bench rests between two realities: the self-managed cultural space of Pekarna, and a looming construction site where new residential buildings are slowly rising. Each day, the construction site comes a bit forward, claiming a little more ground from the cultural zone. So it feels as if this bench can offers us a short moment of peace — a spot where, if only briefly, we can sit and turn our back on gentrification.
Postcard no. 2: A Pair of Artist’s Legs
I caught this image mid-conversation — just her legs, intertwined, squeezed— while she spoke with fiery energy about her creative practice and all of the problems that freelance artists in Slovenia face in their everyday life.
Postcard no. 3: Abandoned Plant Sanctuary in Krater
Tucked within Krater — a post-industrial void turned into an interdisciplinary production space in Ljubljana — is a sanctuary for abandoned plants. Krater was born from a crater-like former construction site in Bežigrad, now reimagined as a living laboratory for designers, ecologists, artists, and biologists. The sanctuary from the picture offers a safe haven for plants, mostly indoor varieties, that have been neglected and left without a home. A small act of kindness that feet almost unimaginable in our harsh world.
Postcard no. 4: A Table and a Couch on a Carpet in the Osmoza Offices
Bavarski dvor is a typical business skyscraper — made of glass and steel, it features a formal lobby with a security desk, has multiple elevators and hosts offices for corporations, law firms and tech startups. There is one little anomaly in this neoliberal set-up — on the 8th floor there is an artistic production and development center called Osmoza. Osmoza gathers individuals from different backgrounds — artists, researchers, programmers, designers, technologists, and producers. It is always nice to find unexpected things in the most predictable surroundings.
Postcard no. 5: A Crooked Pole in Maribor
I always liked photographing small street malfunctions, usually invisible to most passers-by — cracked pavement, flowers growing from concrete, a crooked pole, accidental compositions — all of these details feel like a way to glimpse into the city's subconscious.
