At a time when the social landscape across the world was radically marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, social movements in Slovenia adopted a distinctly engaged oppositional attitude to the systems of power in response to the consequences of the governmental measures and as a sign of dissatisfaction with the political situation in the country. This attitude was underpinned by numerous rallies, protests, acts of civil disobedience and other forms of activism. Since the beginning, the demonstrations were accompanied by several photographers who, despite working in demanding conditions, consistently documented over 170 events in the capital city and across the country.

Based on in-depth research work for the 2021 exhibition on Slovenian reportage photography, and according to the Jakopič Gallery’s mission to present and value photographic records of moments of our past and present time, 38 authors are featured at the exhibition entitled Our Claim: Slovenian Protest Photography 2020–2022.

Selected photographs are arranged in thematic sections representing different elements of the protests. New Reality reveals the dichotomy of the public space during the anti-coronavirus measures, ranging from empty streets during the curfew to squares packed with people during rallies. The Words appearing on the banners, manifests, in slogans and poetry express the protesters’ ideals and demands, strengthen solidarity and co-shape the public discourse, while the Symbols – spanning from established motifs, such as flags and flowers, to current ones including bicycles and face masks – are building the visual image of the demonstrations and, in turn, our collective imagination. The photographic portraits give emphasis to the faces of the protests, strengthening their individual voices and at the same time pointing to the inclusive nature of social activism engaging public personalities as well as random individuals.

Each protest is a performance in which with their planned and co-ordinated actions the participants communicate their beliefs to the public. Choreographed motions, chanting, and the use of costumes, masks and props serve as the means to express either disagreement or support and with their colourfulness add to the recognisability of a protest. Amongst other things, photography is a tool for documenting responses to demonstrations, and its task is to record interactions between the protesters, the public, and the representatives of authorities, including conflicts and repression. The last section of the exhibition is thus devoted to portraits of the photographers, shedding light on their joint efforts and the challenges they encountered in their fieldwork.

The idea to collect these photographs to form their combined archive took shape during the very first public actions in 2020, and was growing stronger up until the last wave of demonstrations prior to the parliamentary elections in April 2022. During the process of designing the exhibition, a community of 19 professional and amateur photographers from different generations was established. This community regularly photographed the protests and co-shaped the exhibition in the Jakopič Gallery together with the curators Julija Hoda and Metod Blejec.

The selection of photographs presented at the exhibition is the outcome of lively collaboration further enriched by the works of 19 photographers selected following an open call. Moreover, in aiming to unveil the widest range of perspectives on our collective experience the exhibition also gives space to visitors who wish to share their own photographic impressions of that period.

The exhibition of Slovenian protest photography shows the role and meaning of the photographer in recording social events and valuing our common heritage, striving to assemble individual photographic fragments to create a document of the period that will become our claim.

Watch the video for the exhibition by the renowed Slovenian photographer Tone Stojko. And a big thank you to the group Borghesia for the music!