The extensive photographic series Horal (eng. The Mountaineer) captures artist’s self-portraits in the wild nature of the rural Slovak countryside, where he grew up in. Horal was a private project that emerged in the High Tatras Mountains. It was driven by a desire to return to artist’s roots and rediscover where he and his work originate from. During the weeks spent hiking and walking in the mountains, Durina photographed not only the landscape and natural beauty but primarily himself. In the solitude of the mountains, he sought to rediscover his relationship with his own physicality and identity through photography. He pondered what kind of person he would be if he had never left Slovakia. In the self-portraits amidst monumental natural scenery, he celebrated soft masculinity and, conversely, parodied toxic masculinity associated with the stereotype of a strong and tough mountain man.

(This project has been supported using public funds provided by Slovak Arts Council)