Alen & Robi Predanič
The Witch Twins
Alen and Robi Predanič build worlds and capture them in movement or still images, in which they themselves take on the main roles. They are performers, video artists, costume designers, photographers, prop and make-up artists, set designers, directors, editors, models and actors in their projects.
Alen and Robi Predanič, Daisy Bed, 2022. Courtesy of the artists.
Alen and Robi Predanič, Daisy Bed, 2022. Courtesy of the artists.
The Predanič twins model themselves on mega-directors such as Tim Burton, James Cameron, Hayao Miyazaki and Peter Jackson, and the sensibilities of the dreamy and psychedelic 1960s and 1970s. “We love the aesthetic and the soul of that era. A soul that manifests itself in all kinds of forms – beautiful melodies, harmonies, colour palettes, affecting stories, architecture.” They also find inspiration in the memories of their first encounters with fairy-tales, cartoons, movies and television, in compelling, fleshed-out, lived-in universes, abundant in details, textures, atmosphere, iconic characters, a fairy-tale logic.
During their student years, in a dorm where they lived together, the twins came to realise that the imagination and courage they possessed during childhood had disappeared – at least for the time being. The discovery of the art of drag – the world of drag queens – empowered them to transform their feeling of not really belonging to this world into a specific shape and form. They decided not to go gentle into that cold and soulless world, but to create a new, free, safe and warm world. “This is a world we have known in a certain form since childhood. As children, we imagined we were wizards, and we would sometimes dress in women's clothes, at home and at kindergarten.” They decorated their room in the style of the 60s and 70s and turned it into a Gesamtkunstwerk of colours, shapes, textures, found objects and handmade artefacts.
The worlds of the Predanič brothers are fairy-tale-like, magical, weird, surreal, nostalgic, mystical. Their worlds are different to the quotidian, they are an escape, a trip. And yet they are real worlds after all. The illusion they create is truer than reality, as it is of their own design, over which the artists retain total control at all times. There is no need to call the work of Alen and Robi Predanič radical, but in a world so hateful, fake, cynical, grey and indifferent, their honesty, warmth, playfulness and unusualness bring hope that there is still some magic left in it.
Text by: Jure Kirbiš
During their student years, in a dorm where they lived together, the twins came to realise that the imagination and courage they possessed during childhood had disappeared – at least for the time being. The discovery of the art of drag – the world of drag queens – empowered them to transform their feeling of not really belonging to this world into a specific shape and form. They decided not to go gentle into that cold and soulless world, but to create a new, free, safe and warm world. “This is a world we have known in a certain form since childhood. As children, we imagined we were wizards, and we would sometimes dress in women's clothes, at home and at kindergarten.” They decorated their room in the style of the 60s and 70s and turned it into a Gesamtkunstwerk of colours, shapes, textures, found objects and handmade artefacts.
The worlds of the Predanič brothers are fairy-tale-like, magical, weird, surreal, nostalgic, mystical. Their worlds are different to the quotidian, they are an escape, a trip. And yet they are real worlds after all. The illusion they create is truer than reality, as it is of their own design, over which the artists retain total control at all times. There is no need to call the work of Alen and Robi Predanič radical, but in a world so hateful, fake, cynical, grey and indifferent, their honesty, warmth, playfulness and unusualness bring hope that there is still some magic left in it.
Text by: Jure Kirbiš
Alen and Robi Predanič, Tout en Haut, 2020. Courtesy of the artists. 
Alen and Robi Predanič, Show me your hand & C’mon, 2020. Courtesy of the artists.
Alen & Robi Predanič (1994) make videos for musicians and bands from all around the world. Their work has been shown at various Slovenian film festivals, such as the Festival of Slovenian Film (Portorož), Festival Tresk (Ljubljana) and LGBT Film Festival (Ljubljana). At the latter, they received the 2022 Pink Dragon Award for the best Slovenian short film for their film Marjetica v postelji. Their video for the song Mushroom Kingdom by the Australian band Sunfruits was played on the legendary Australian TV show Rage. They were one of the 30 finalists for the CIRCA x Dazed and Confused Magazine Class of 2022, which meant that their short film The Witch Twins was played on the iconic Piccadilly Lights screen in London and on other big screens in Berlin, Seoul and Melbourne. The exhibition at UGM Studio was the Predanič brothers’ first presentation in a gallery context.
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Based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, each issue is dedicated to a relevant topic in art and life. Founded to promote emerging artists, its goal is to initiate a dialogue, inspire collaborations, and challenge set views.