Opening hours:
Monday - Friday:12am - 6pm
Monday - Friday:12am - 6pm
17 November 2015 > 11 December 2015 Kindly invited to the opening of the exhibition "Drunken Rabbit" by David Krančan on Wednesday, 18th November, at 8 pm at Alkatraz Gallery, ACC Metelkova. ATTENTION: the exhibition will be closed on Thursday, 10. 12 from 4pm to 8 pm. Alkatraz Gallery joins the protest against racism, nationalism and authoritarianism. We urge all the visitors to take part in the Demonstration for Peace & Different Europe, at 5pm on Kongresni square in Ljubljana.
This year's new comics album by David Krančan is accompanied by his independent exhibition with the same title. The artist is exhibiting original pages from his newest comic and creating a series of mural drawings that round out and complement the visual narrative about yet another member of the animal world. The spotlight of the exhibition is namely on the drunken rabbit, an unusual character in a folk tale from the famous Zverinice iz Rezije collection (tale narrated by Dorina Čúnkina, written down by Milko Matičetov).
After the comics story Grdina (Stripburger/Forum Ljubljana, 2014), Drunken rabbit is Krančan's second excursion into the field of folk literature from Rezija. Again, the artist has reached into the content and adapted this product of folk imagination according to the spirit of the current times: from the pattern of a classic tale to an adventurous parable on the human nature. Krančan employs his thought-out and lively artistic imagination to create meaningful stories that question the world we're living in. The exhibition is characterized by a visual and substantive dialogue between the completed comics story and portrayals of the main character, created especially for this occasion and embedded in a simple and comprehensible narrative. The narrative is created in a distinct visual style characterized by meaningful details and skilful framing, but above all by a special feel for a communicative and dramaturgically solid storytelling.
The drunken rabbit was re-created in 3D for this exhibition by Marko A. Kovačič and Rok Mohar.
David Krančan has been a member of the editorial team at Stripburger for more than a decade. He co-created (with Andraž Polič) a book of comics haikus titled Na prvem tiru (2008). His illustrations are regularly published by newspapers and magazines in Slovenija (for example on the cover of Dnevnik's Objektiv). His works often focuses on the exploration of the borders of the comics medium. Recently he created a comics book for children titled Grdina (Zverinice iz Rezije v stripu; Stripburger/Forum Ljubljana, 2014). He's also regularly mentors different comics workshops.
Production: Stripburer/Forum Ljubljana
Co-production: KUD Mreža/Galerija Alkatraz.
ABOUT THE COMICS album:
David Krančan: DRUNKEN RABBIT, O collection #15
Nov. 2015, 56 pages, b&w, B5, 7 €
comic: David Krančan / folk tale Pijani zajec / as narrated by: Dorina Čúnkina / documented and adapted by: Milko Matičetov / the story was published for the first time in 1973 with Mladinska knjiga and Založništvo tržaškega tiska publishers
David Krančan in his newest comic on 54 pages tells the story of a rabbit who lives a solitary life in a house outside village, somewhere in Rezija. The retired rabbit, a former ex-pat, lives a modest life, works hard and helps his closest neighbour so at least at special occasions he can afford himself something more than the usual »turnips and potatoes«. Once, on Christmas eve, he attends the mass in the village church, climbs the balcony and joins the choir. The festive and solemn nature of the ritual takes him too far in his singing, and his enthusiasm is not appreciated. Lonely, sad and ashamed, rabbit resorts to the traditional method of dealing with bad mood. Luckily, other characters from the story intervene and prevent an even worse outcome for the unfortunate one. In the end, the rabbit is confronted with the consequences of his actions, and the reader with the moral of the story, useful then as well as now.
The story of the drunken rabbit features Krančan's consistent drawing, dynamic composition, heightened sense for comics storytelling and an excellent grasp of the rhythm of the original story. The artist thus authentically transfers the folk tale into a new medium, giving it a whole new dimension, as well as dusts it off and revamps it for the contemporary generations of readers. By this means, he re-discovers this pearl of folk literature and re-presents it to the wider audience in an attractive and illustrative way.
Bojan Albahari/Stripburger
