Eduard Klena

"Unhome" (Not-a-Home) is a place where one is meant to set aside their worries and car keys, cuddle a pet, or greet their family and children. It is a space where one can shed the mask worn in the outside world—on the street, at work, in shops, or in official settings. It is a place to disarm oneself against the unpredictable events of the outside world, entering a safe haven where one can simply drift along on "autopilot." At home, one might put on sweatpants and flip-flops, brew a cup of coffee, and prop one’s feet up on a table in front of a screen. This is a daily routine—a pattern we all follow in various forms—that ultimately leads to the same goal: rest, relaxation, and "switching off." Yet, the reality for a portion of the population is that coming home brings only unrest—conflict, insecurity, manipulation, and violence, whether psychological or physical. "Unhome" serves as a loose continuation of last year’s exhibition, "+", held at the Regional Gallery in Prešov. It tracks and summarizes the changes—or lack thereof—over the past year regarding legislation, gender equality, and the approach toward violence against women within a polarized Slovak society. The exhibition "Unhome" is an oxymoron—an emptiness. It is an unpleasant, dark, abandoned, cold, and bleak space that evokes the unexpected, stress, fear, and exhaustion. In her bachelor’s thesis *S&M Showroom I.*, Natália Ižáková introduces a provocative installation into the viewer’s personal space. She employs techniques borrowed from advertising to draw attention to sexist marketing, objectification, gender-based violence, and stereotypes—elements that a viewer in Prešov can unpack and examine as if in their own living room. Klaudia Korbelič’s evocative 3D-printed objects, arranged in a site-specific installation, evoke the aftermath of a struggle—a static tableau of completed events, a graveyard for the potential for change. While Miroslav Sandanus’s paintings depict interiors that warp and merge with the exterior, Monika Hurajová highlights the intimacy and tension found in the dim light and blurred activity behind a curtain—a space hidden from outside observation. Together, these works construct a scenography representing the contemporary reality of an imagined "household." Two works on loan by Maria Proshkowska (UA, UK)—both responding to current events in Ukraine—address the lost, unacknowledged, and undervalued invisible labor performed by women within a male-dominated structure, a situation further intensified in the harsh environment of a "third-world" setting. Drawing on her own personal experiences, Beata Targosz (PL, DE) fills the gallery space with an immersive, exclusive sound art piece created for Prešov. It features sounds heard from behind a wall—perhaps in an apartment block within a prefabricated housing estate in Gdańsk, or anywhere else—capturing things overheard, whether intentionally or inadvertently. Targosz asks whether we should respond to these sounds—which vary in pitch and intensity—or whether we should ignore the events unfolding, even though they might potentially require our intervention.
(In Prešov, all six artists belong to a young generation, hailing from both Slovakia and abroad.) They have occupied four rooms within the Prešov Regional Gallery—spaces originally designated for purposes other than exhibitions. Here, they simulate a living space—a "home" that is not quite a home—cold and emptied out; a place where something ought to be, yet we cannot find it.