Vanja Mervič is a painter by training, even though he works in different media, as he believes that every idea has its own form of expression. His works generally deal with the world beyond the visible layers of materiality. On the one hand, he explores what becomes visible only with the help of modern technology (such as the electron microscope and the Kirlian camera), i.e. the micro-structure of matter, and on the other hand, the world of the immaterial, of ideas, thoughts and energy. Accordingly, his art practice shows an affiliation to the modern scientific, material world view and at the same time a commitment to something primordial, eternal, inexplicable that lies beyond the material.

In this exhibition entitled take-it chew-it spit-it-out, the artist presents various works that deal with chewing gum as a metaphor for today’s consumer society. He warns that humanity has made an incredible technological leap in the last two centuries, but that parallel to this process it is rapidly losing the values that make the world a pleasant place to live in. Recently it has become increasingly clear that so-called progress has got us nowhere; we are shuffling along, wrapped up to our necks in one disposable product or another. We are surrounded by impenetrable piles of objects that we immediately throw away after their first use, while at the same time drowning in information, advice and ideas that we quickly take in, chew and spit out again – like chewing gum.

In the exhibited works, the artist treats chewing gum – this perfect representative of waste – as an artefact and in this way tries to find meaning in its nonsense. In keeping with the gallery space, he divides the works into three groups. The first, entitled Topography of the Daily, includes frottages, an artist’s book and a tray object with chewing gum intended for visitors. The second group, entitled Obscure Passage, consists of a series of photographs composed of SEM microscope images, sound and video. The third, entitled Aftermath, presents works in progress – paintings and objects with collections of used chewing gum that visitors to the exhibition can also add to.

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Vanja Mervič (1973) initially studied Painting at the academy in Venice, before transferring to the academy in Milano, where he graduated in 2001. He continued his master’s studies at ALUO in Ljubljana, obtaining a master’s degree in Video and New Media in the class of Prof. Srečo Dragan in 2008. He furthered his studies in Belgium (Hoogeshool, Ghent), New Zealand (UCOL, Wanganui) and Austria (FH Digitale Medien, University of Applied Science, Hagenberg), and has taken part in several artist residencies in France, Italy and Russia. His work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad. He has received several awards and recognitions, including the ZDSLU Award 2015, the Silver Snowflake of Sarajevo Winter 2018 and the Jury Prize at 60Seconds Festival 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark. He lives and works in Nova Gorica.