Beauty Within

Jernej Jelen

A photography exhibition

On view from 30.5. to 12.6. 2022.

Slovenian photographer Jernej Jelen is a young author whose professional path is gaining international interest, especially after winning the Milan Fashion Week competition in 2019. He said the following about his exhibition: "With the series of 50 black-and-white photographs, I want to tell the intimate story of a genuine woman – not just by portraying main actresses, but by the story of all women. In the constant search for perfection, their true, inner and special personal beauty is instantly lost. True beauty is real. Unpretentious. Genuine. The one that comes from within ourselves. Out of awareness of who we really are. And who are we? What are we? Why are we here? What are we fighting for? Why do we cry and laugh? I wished that each of the 50 actresses would trust me and my camera with their true nature. Their own beauty and soul. That each actress would be presented in her own imperfection, that is familiar to all of us. The portraits are captured in natural light, in a relaxed moment. By abandoning make-up, hairdressing or any other photographic tricks, I managed to preserve the essence of the personalities of the women portrayed, drawing attention to the deeper truth around us with the black-and-white photography. I doubt the modern world, the world full of boredom, one-mindedness, vulgarity and numbness, in which flawless appearance is (over)appreciated. Where appearance is worth much more than the petty imperfections that define us but are artificially corrected, always erased, not valued and not respected. We live in a world where beauty is anything but beautiful."