Goran Bertok: CALLIGRAPHIA OBSCURA

The opening of this photographic exhibition took place on 8 October 2004 at 9 pm in MMC Kibla, Ulica kneza Koclja 9, Maribor. Suggested dress code was black.

“To live and to eat he must kill, it doesn't matter where or who, it doesn't matter when. A bloody victim always screams out of horror and pain, no matter if it's a human or a pig. And what exactly is the difference?!”
(translation from Goran Čučković, Žretje bogov).

On Friday, 8 October 2004 we opened the photo exhibition of Goran Bertok. Photos were exhibited in MMC Kibla between 8 and 15 October 2004. The recognisable themes and style of Goran Bertok attracted numerous fans and made new visitors enthusiastic for his photography.

Body, violence, pleasure; violence over the body, violence over our own body. Bertok is interested in possession of the body and condemnation to our own body; body as flesh, blood, juice, sperm, shit. And: everything that is unusual, marginal, bizarre, morbid, forbidden. And again: art as freedom and violation.

After Goran Bertok had been chosen by Harald Szeemann to cooperate at the Balkan exhibition »Blut und Honig» (Blood and Honey) in Essl Sammlung in Vienna in 2003, Goran confirmed himself as an author who exceeds Slovene frameworks as far as his topics and his artistic realisation of creative ideas are concerned. About the author: Goran Bertok: born in 1963 in Koper, graduated from journalism at FSPN in 1989; his most well accepted independent exhibitions over the last few years include: In 2001: »B.A.S.E«, Bordeaux (F) »23«, ZPK zapora Koper, »Zapori«, Festival Ex Ponto; In 2002: »Stigmata«, ZPK zapora DOB, »Sveti križ«, /Dean Verzel & Goran Bertok/, Strunjan; In 2003: »Calligraphia obscura«, Festival Ex Ponto, Shelter under Ljubljana's castle; In 2004: »Calligraphia obscura«, Kotor, SČG. He also participated in group exhibitions: In 2001: »Corpus del akti«, Nude art in Slovenia III, CD, »Oko in njegova resnica«, Modern gallery, Ljubljana; In 2002: »Shock&Show«, Gallery Lipanjepuntin, Trst; in 2003: »Blut und Honig«, Sammlung Essl, Dunaj, »Salon sodobne slovenske fotografije«, Ljubljana; in 2004: »Sodobna erotična fotografija«, Gallery Photon, Ljubljana, »Kolo nasilja«, Museum of modern history, Ljubljana, »L.I.P.A., 8th annual Summer Summit«, Gallery Mestni stolp, Ptuj.
Goran Bertok has received a working scholarship of the Slovene Ministry of Culture.