EXHIBITION THE OUTSIDE VIEW. JAKA TERŠEK

The opening of the exhibition The Outside View. Jaka Teršek at the DESSA Gallery will take place on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, at 8.00 pm. Prior to this, at 6.00 pm at DESSA, there will be Shift – a dialogue between Andreas Ruby, chair of this year’s Plečnik Awards jury, and Maja Vardjan.

We've got a problem in this world. The world as we knew it has been out of joint. Increasingly, we call this present time of madness and savagery the new reality. In this reality, rules no longer hold, nor do the established norms of international law or, indeed, the rights of citizens and communities; only the voice of the strongest applies and is heard. Wealth and influence supply the power which crushes everything in its path. It is as though in this new reality, no room is left for kindness, solidarity, and warmth anymore. While in Europe, we are safe from imminent threats for the time being, the mounting domination of the Zeitgeist and the accompanying manner of conduct, based on inner circles of power and single-mindedness, are being transmitted to various facets of the society ever more.

There are several paths to a different world. Among the diverse approaches, that which gives the opportunity and voice to thoughtful young people seems to gleam with the most promise. This includes architecture, its discourse, and its representations.

Exhibition An Outside View in Gallery DESSA, which showcases the works presented with the 2026 Plečnik Awards through the photographs of young photographer and visual artist Jaka Teršek, sets out to carry out this very undertaking: empowering the young, those with different values, those standing outside the established circles of worthiness. Architecture is conventionally viewed through established premises. In the Slovene architectural milieu, particularly due to the pettiness of our society, we are perhaps even more accustomed to recognising "proper" architecture by means of almost standardised viewpoints.

Jaka Teršek’s photographs unveil a view of the architecture from a displaced perspective, they impart novelty to the awarded architectural realisations and they peel back the layers of meaning harboured by the showcased works. A different view of architectural practice is all the more vital in a time when thinking itself is being replaced by imagery, as it reveals new spaces and portrays alternative sensations triggered by this architecture.

dr. Mateja Kurir