Our daily lives are a weave of routines and rituals—an invisible structure that holds our existence together and becomes perceptible only when disrupted. Yet, the everyday is far more than a collection of habits; it is a political, poetic, and generative space.

Building on this idea, the ordinary should not be seen as mere self-evidence but as an aesthetic and cultural resonance chamber. The objects that fill our living spaces and the gestures and patterns that structure our days are much more than functional necessities. They carry layers of meaning, deeply interwoven with social, cultural, and political structures.

Walls, door handles, scissors, or crumpled bed linens—these artifacts of our everyday existence serve as starting points for an aesthetic and discursive exploration that transcends the obvious. The works reveal the invisible dynamics that shape our relationships with objects and spaces, reinterpreting everyday items to uncover their cultural, social, or utopian dimensions.

The exhibition intentionally situates itself within a setting evocative of domestic spaces—retreats that double as projection screens for societal and political questions. Bedrooms, living rooms, and bathrooms are not simply sites of intimacy but stages where power structures and social roles are enacted and negotiated.

The notion that private spaces exist untouched by societal dynamics is unequivocally challenged. In an age where online communities, social media, and messaging platforms increasingly blur the boundaries between public and private spheres, it becomes evident how deeply even our most intimate spaces are embedded in global discourses.

As the feminist slogan from the 1960s reminds us: “The personal is political.” Questions of gender roles, divisions of labor, and family structures are never isolated but always part of a broader network of cultural norms and power relations. Similarly, our private spaces are often shaped by colonial and imperial narratives—whether through the appropriation of resources, the marginalization of alternative ways of living, or the imposition of Western norms as universal standards.

In the interplay of tradition and progress, past and future, utopia and dystopia, the narrative of this exhibition unfolds. These contrasts are reflected not only in the selected works but also in the dynamics that shape our everyday lives. The artists engage with these tensions, revealing the layers and complexities of even the most ordinary aspects of existence. Moving between irony and poetry, deconstruction and reflection, the works interrogate —not as a neutral backdrop but as an active space that shapes us as we shape it.

This engagement with the ordinary reveals the transformative potential of everyday life: it is not a static framework but a dynamic sphere where societal values and identities are constantly renegotiated. How often, however, do we consciously question our routines to discover new perspectives on the familiar? As Roland Barthes put it, the everyday is not self-evident—it is a constant challenge, demanding to be read and reinterpreted.

— Xenia Lesniewski, January 2025