I, We and Others: Images of my World

The permanent exhibition Between Nature and Culture presents the Slovene and non-European cultural heritage held in the Slovene Ethnographic Museum's collections. The exhibition I, We and Others: Images of my World offers a counterpoint.

This is an exhibition dedicated to man and his place in the world

From man's social nature there arises a need for a sense of belonging – among people, in time and space. Through relations with others we each seek answers to questions and shape our perception of the world. The environment that shapes each one of us determines how we interact, see, feel and evaluate people and things, concepts and ideas, knowledge and experience, the past and the future.

We may be alert to difference, we may be enthused by identity, but neither can be denied. Difference arises from individual experience, everyday life and cultural diversity, while identity derives from being human. The exhibition thus addresses the relations among the personal, communal and universal heritage. Rather than the visible heritage, we direct attention towards the question of how heritage comes about and what is its significance.

The exhibition offers a breathing space among everyday obligations and a chance to contemplate yourself and others, to reflect on the world and the life that we lead. We hope to bring about a sense of wonder and joy at the lively multitude of images of many different worlds. We do not offer simple solutions: this is a space in which to ask questions and seek your own answers, to exchange ideas and experiences.

For is this not also a way of belonging?
I – the individual
My family – my home
My community – my birthplace
Beyond my birthplace – my departure
My nation – my country
My otherness and foreign otherness – the wider world
Me – my personal world

The exhibition's seven chapters reflect the different aspects of the individual's sense of place and social belonging. The cohesive thread running through all of them is the individual journey through life: a story in seven "pictures", made up of moments from personal and family life that combine with the shared history of the Slovenes. At the symbolic level this also encompasses the diurnal and annual rhythm, drawing upon Jože Dular's novel And the Krka Flows Onwards.