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Komentovaná prehliadka výstavy Totem
Guided tour of the Totem exhibition
Event by: Galéria Jána Koniarka v Trnave / Jan Koniarek Gallery in Trnava
Location: Synagogue, Halenárska 407, Trnava
Topics: Guided tours
About event
We invite you to a guided tour of the Totem exhibition
which will be accompanied by the author Ján Triaška together with the curator Zora Rusinová.
💥 Thursday 20.11. 2025 at 17:00 💥
Synagogue – Contemporary Art Center
The Totem exhibition examines how national identity and collective memory are constructed and asks questions about what remains when symbols have lost their original function. Ján Triaška interprets Kriváň as a tribal totem – a symbol of Slovaks firmly connected to the territory and nature. At the same time, however, it reveals how these symbols are often simplified, idealized or even abused in political and cultural propaganda.
The installation overlaps the past with the present: the layering of images, unconventional arrangements and seemingly unrelated elements create a space for reflection on how society remembers and interprets its history. Symbols of Slovak "authenticity" are deconstructed with irony and playfulness: Kriváň becomes a post-art painting, the Guardians of Benka turn into shadows among the ruins and the ivy withers, which shows how ideals and symbols disappear under the pressure of time and consumerism. and presence. The show invites you to think about how collective memory is formed, what mechanisms are behind its preservation and deformation, and what questions these processes pose to us today.
which will be accompanied by the author Ján Triaška together with the curator Zora Rusinová.
💥 Thursday 20.11. 2025 at 17:00 💥
Synagogue – Contemporary Art Center
The Totem exhibition examines how national identity and collective memory are constructed and asks questions about what remains when symbols have lost their original function. Ján Triaška interprets Kriváň as a tribal totem – a symbol of Slovaks firmly connected to the territory and nature. At the same time, however, it reveals how these symbols are often simplified, idealized or even abused in political and cultural propaganda.
The installation overlaps the past with the present: the layering of images, unconventional arrangements and seemingly unrelated elements create a space for reflection on how society remembers and interprets its history. Symbols of Slovak "authenticity" are deconstructed with irony and playfulness: Kriváň becomes a post-art painting, the Guardians of Benka turn into shadows among the ruins and the ivy withers, which shows how ideals and symbols disappear under the pressure of time and consumerism. and presence. The show invites you to think about how collective memory is formed, what mechanisms are behind its preservation and deformation, and what questions these processes pose to us today.