More often than not, we are encouraged to step out of our comfort zone, assuming there is something better waiting on the other side. The perspective that “growth begins where your comfort zone ends” is echoed endlessly in self-help books and online, with influencers telling us how to be ambitious, push boundaries and self-improve. It takes courage and strength, we hear, and there is always a fair amount of risk in exchanging comfort for what is unknown but supposedly better. In times of permanent crisis, however, can we really assume a position of comfort is one to be taken for granted? Isn’t the unknown and the unstable more akin to our everyday experience than the idea that we might choose to live safely and predictably? On the contrary, we find that seeking or creating comfort is a struggle in itself for many and one that can be considered just as brave and demanding as jumping into the unknown.
The exhibition Comfort Zone: Displays of Affection is based on the fourth issue of ETC. magazine. Through works by Martina Drozd Smutná, Kaja Upelj, Dorottya Vékony, Sonja Vulpes and Konstantin Zhukov, it explores the notion of seeking out comfort in (public) displays of affection – both towards others and oneself. The artists in the exhibition thus reflect on the complexities and ambiguities of interpersonal relationships, intergenerational trauma, intimacy and sexual fluidity, gender roles and parenting challenges, as well as the importance of self-love.
In Cake (2024), Sonja Vulpes explores mental states through themes of self-love, reflection and celebrating oneself. Kaja Upelj’s Dear Veronika (2024) examines the complexities of maternal and intergenerational love, touching on family bonds and inherited trauma. Dorottya Vékony addresses (in)fertility and reproductive rights in Rites of Letting Go (2023), exploring miscarriage, abortion and tabooed experiences that shape self-image, as well as alternatives to biological reproduction and heteronormative roles. In Hold Me Tight (2020–2025), Martina Drozd Smutná views the family as a system where care is privatised, exposing how gender roles, fragile masculinity and parenting challenges enter into a lack of broader support. In Black Carnation (2021–), Konstantin Zhukov explores Latvia’s overlooked queer histories. Named after a pre-WWII term for gay men, the project uses fading thermal prints from a cruising beach to reflect on the fragility of queer memory and the absence of archival records.
Artists: Martina Drozd Smutná, Kaja Upelj, Dorottya Vékony, Sonja Vulpes, Konstantin Zhukov
Curated by: ETC. (Hana Čeferin, Ajda Ana Kocutar, Lara Mejač)
Exhibition design: Žan Kobal, Timotej Rosc
Graphic design: Zoran Pungerčar
Audio guided tour: Jaka Smerkolj Simoneti
Audio design: Gašper Lovrec
The exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the City of Ljubljana, the Liszt Institute Ljubljana and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Riga.
