In its 42 years of existence, the IRWIN art collective (consisting of Dušan Mandić, Miran Mohar, Andrej Savski, Roman Uranjek and Borut Vogelnik) has staged around 450 group and solo exhibitions. Photography has previously been a less prominent element in its creative output, but this new show – the first comprehensive solo exhibition of its photographic works – shines a spotlight on its centrality in its work.

Some of the group’s most notable projects will be displayed through the prism of photography. These include Svoji k svojim [Birds of a Feather], Was ist Kunst? [What is Art], the NSK Garda [NSK Guard] poster series, the It's a Beautiful Country series and other projects created in collaboration with renowned photographers (Andres Serrano, Božidar Dolenc, Bojan Salaj, Miha Fras, Leslie Fratkin, Michael Schuster, Franci Virant, Igor Anđelić, Bojan Radovič, Tomaž Gregorič, Voranc Vogel, Jaka Babnik, and others).

The exhibition reveals how the IRWIN group uses photography as a means of documentation, transformation and conceptual reflection, and places the displayed images in their symbolic and political contexts. At a time of rising nationalism and distorted historical narratives, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the images – and perhaps on photographic images in general – as domains in which meaning is arbitrarily redistributed and rewritten and the politics of representation are constantly being reinvented.

It is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue that documents the photographic output of the IRWIN collective and sheds light on the role and significance of photography in its artistic practice.