Each of the posters below is a portal into the vast underground of the topic in question, where content found in the media, advertising, online and on social networks forms a mosaic of perspectives of how women are portrayed and perceived in contemporary society. The majority of texts and other content include links to original sources. Click and (don't) be amazed!
Don’t Teach a Flower How to Bloom is a research-based project by the YASA collective that addresses the deeply rooted stereotypes associated with femininity and gender (roles), drawing parallels between women and flowers. The project critically examines and deconstructs the patriarchal language and beliefs that reinforce notions of softness, beauty, and passivity, often relegating women to roles that emphasize fragility and ornamental value. Through a series of five posters and accompanying websites that explore the intersections between women and flowers from different perspectives, the project aims to challenge and disrupt these limiting portrayals, emphasizing the resilience, complexity, and multifaceted nature of both. Each poster features a QR code that links to an accompanying website exploring the stereotypes addressed, showcasing how women are portrayed in media, literature, advertising, and online through found imagery. Together, the posters and website symbolize „the truth“ and „the lies“, echoing the „double agent“ metaphor of the biennial. Through bold visual storytelling and the interplay of image and text, the project reclaims floral imagery as a symbol of strength and transformation, rather than reducing it to a merely decorative role.
The YASA collective was founded in the spring of 2024 and comprises four artists who work between Ljubljana and Berlin. The collective consists of digital artist, graphic designer, and videographer Sara Bezovšek, photographer and multimedia artist Asiana Jurca Avci, graphic, floral, and textile designer Gaja Vičič, and journalist and curator Dora Trček. Their artistic and research-based practices share a common interest in questioning and subverting established norms of gender and femininity, critical analysis and reappropriation of internet and pop culture, the boundaries between the personal and political and self-image and self-representation in the post-digital age. In addition, they like to play with bold, striking and disruptive visual language, using a dense pool of visual references, always eager to explore new ways of experimenting with visual storytelling. For BIO28, they have been part of the Cattleya production platform, which is mentored by Michelle Phillips (Studio Yukiko) and Grashina Gabelmann (Flaneur Magazine).
