Symbolic power operates on multiple levels: at the societal meta-level, its mechanisms are at the core of the political, legal, and social systems which determine our lives to a great extend; at the social level, it shapes social classifications and associated codes of behavior that forms group identities, as well as written and unwritten laws that constitute our interactions in private and public spaces; on the individual level, it is the impact of diverse symbolic contents, social values and norms on each individual’s self-image and self-perception.

Symbolic power and violence are omnipresent in all areas of our life, and yet, much like the fish that doesn’t know it’s wet, we are mostly unaware of it. The main intention of “Studies On Symbolic Violence” is to create sensations and situations that would allow for the hidden mechanisms of symbolic power and violence to become visible and tangible; to create a rapture in the habitual perception patterns that could enable action.

The project is organized in so-called studies – a concept that was borrowed from the visual arts. Similar to the studies an artist does before painting the whole picture, “Studies On Symbolic Violence” highlight a certain aspect of the subject and investigate it through various artistic modalities – dance, performance, text, visual art and installation.