Pleme

Pleme

The photographic work of German-Croatian artist Matthias Dürr explores complex themes of identity, heritage, and belonging. The exhibition highlights the fragile reality of queer visibility: the need for expression and openness alongside the simultaneous need or even pressure to conceal. Dürr depicts a constant play between openness and protection, visibility and invisibility, which continually shape the lives of queer individuals.

Exhibition

The exhibition showcases portraits of members of the LGBTIQ+ community, who continue to face prejudice and discrimination in Croatian society. Dürr uses traditional Croatian costumes, typically worn according to strict rules (gender, occasion, and social context), and consciously breaks these rules by deconstructing the costumes and swapping male and female clothing items. This visual metaphorical process emphasizes broader societal frameworks that limit identity and expression.

In this way, the artist draws on a long tradition in art history of deconstructing symbols deeply rooted in cultural memory, challenging rigid, normative notions of gender, sexuality, and national identity. The exhibition offers reflection on possibilities of belonging and acceptance in a society still grappling with its own prejudices. It invites the audience to consider the tension between tradition and personal freedom, and opens a dialogue on how traditions can be reconsidered with respect, while also serving as a foundation for new, personal narratives.

Matthias Dürr

Matthias Dürr, born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where he grew up as a gay boy in a German-Croatian family, with a German father and a mother from Zagreb. After years of professional freelancing, he earned a degree in visual communication with a focus on photography from Hochschule Darmstadt in 2016. Photography (digital and analogue), video, performance, and illustration were his drivers during his studies. His life in Germany was marked by photography and freelancing, and in 2023, he moved to Zagreb with his partner, exploring the connections between heritage, culture, and identity.

Exhibition

The exhibition will be open until September 9, 2025, at @dorcolplatz. We look forward to your visit!