The exhibition will present a series of paintings thematizing the world of adolescents, their feelings of alienation and vulnerability. The topic of children's mental health has recently been featured in the media, sociological and psychological research, pop culture and the film industry. Analyses are looking at whether-or-not the adolescent soul is plagued by more toxic social networks, global warfare, climate or technological threats. Or is an absent parent or lack of free time to blame? Aware of these challenges, and through symbols referencing childhood, the artist creates nostalgic images calling for safety, friendship and love. However, this experience is disrupted in the paintings, and instead of the joyful youth, a fragile feeling of unattainability remains.

Martina Drozd Smutná understands her artistic work as a language that can be used to talk about intimacy, vulnerability or the everyday nature of personal stories, which, however, do not stand on their own, but are determined by socio-political phenomena. In her paintings, she shows how family, partner or professional relationships are shaped by traditional gender roles. Her paintings cross the boundaries between the past, the present and an apocalyptic future in which the drive for change is mixed with disciplined inertia, the tension between power and powerlessness. The predominantly figurative paintings are united by the theme of social norms and the expectations we fulfill with our lives. The artist is interested in depicting social phenomena such as insecurity and fear in a society where many are unable to meet the basic needs of life.