Dirty Romantics

Lacking the will to integrate or adapt, we pretend to enjoy unpredictable frustrations. The vague illusion of control dissolves somewhere in imaginary exile, and vulnerable optimism becomes a tool for easy laughter. A compromise. A way to keep the peace and stay comfortable. Consent without conviction. Reconciliation without struggle. A gray zone built on the demand for “only good vibes.” Suspended between hopelessness and excitement, we build a sandcastle out of an unstable reality. And still, we make plans. Life in a tent. Food cooked over a fire. Prayer, maybe… So we look into the panda’s idiotic eyes—a blank oracle. Maybe we’ll find an answer: why “Mein Hund ist arbeitslos und hat nur ein Auge”?

Kateryna Berlova (b. 1986, Dnipro) is Ukrainian artist currently based in Berlin. Since 2022, she has been a fellow of the Junge Akademie, Akademie der Künste (ADK), and in 2023 she graduated from the Jan van Eyck Academie. Her work delves into themes of repetition and trauma, which she perceives as manifestations of time or its visible traces. Berlova employs video to document repetitive, monotonous, or obsessive actions that often embody failure. Drawing from her personal experiences, she transcends the individual to explore universal ideas. Fascinated by failures, she examines how these elements challenge cinematic conventions and expand its possibilities. Her practice spans multiple mediums, including video, sound, painting, installation, and site-specific art. She currently works primarily with Ivars Gravlejs as part of the duo Dirty Romantics.

Ivars Gravlejs (b. 1979, Riga) is a Latvian artist and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology (Czech Republic). He studied photography at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) from 2000 to 2007 and later earned a PhD from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (AVU). During his studies at FAMU, Gravlejs shifted his focus from documentary photography to a conceptual approach, leading to the creation of the project Early Works. This project was published by MACK and exhibited at Tate Modern in London. After completing his studies, Gravlejs spent a year developing the subversive project My Newspaper. Working as a photojournalist for one of the major Czech newspapers, he subtly manipulated reportage photographs before they were published. Gravlejs currently resides in Berlin, where he collaborates with Ukrainian artist Kateryna Berlova as the artistic duo Dirty Romantics. His practice spans various media, including photography, video, installation, and performance. Often described as an enfant terrible, Gravlejs continues to explore humor, irony, and critique as tools of artistic resistance.