COMB FOR THE CLOUDS / 2012

"SUB- ART", Mulo, Croatia

plastic, 600 x 30 x 3 cm

there is an abandoned lighthouse on the small island Mulo

an initiative was started to use the lighthouse as residential and exhibition space

as a part of that initiative, a one-day exhibition / action was organized 

I made a 6-meter construction with a comb on top; the comb is in a constant, slow movement because of the wind

this work talks about man's desire to adapt everything to himself and his constant urge to control the nature

WOULD I LIE TO YOU / 2012

"SYMPOSION / DOMINATION", LAZARETI, Dubrovnik, Croatia

sound, 4’ 41’’, loudspeakers, light, stage

electronically processed pop song "Would I Lie to You" by an American music duo Charles and Eddie

original sheet music is played by various percussion instruments, thus creating a militant rhythm; speech synthesis software transforms the lyrics to spoken words

a false, manipulated version of the song is created, although the text is trying to convince us otherwise, i.e. that we would never lie

lie as a dominant fact of the present moment

the positions that disseminate lies are trying to convince (us) that they are actually being sincere

presentation: the song is continuously played from two loudspeakers suspended over the stage; stairs that lead to the stage invite the viewer to climb up and assume "the position"

GOLDEN MEAN / 2012

billboard




Bačvice Beach, one of the favorite cliché pictures of Split, a place for relaxation and recreation, the ideal "golden" mean for leisure

the City of Split is also a cliché, and so is the life in this city

to deviate from the accepted norms, whether by being above average or below it, isn't favorably looked upon, and it usually brings the "appropriate" tag. "golden mean" is fostered - a mediocre approach to all levels of existence

this jumbo poster invites us to Dionysian enjoyment of life; leaving all worries, problems, tasks and responsibilities  behind...

the standardly unimaginative form of advertising Croatian tourist attractions has been adopted: a photo-landscape that can be identified only by the title

all of this takes place in the country whose main source of income is tourism, i.e. where the jobs are created through other people's leisure




CALENDAR PROJECT, Cista Provo, Croatia

SITUATION / 2012

"DIMENSIONS OF HUMOR", SUBSTRUCTURES OF THE DIOCLETIAN'S PALACE, Split, Croatia

seedling fair, banner

the Dimensions of Humour (Dimenzije humora) exhibition was to be held in the cellars of Diocletian's Palace, Split; I was co-organizer of the exhibition and one of the artists whose works were to be presented

Diocletian's cellars are a public space; apart from exhibitions, many different events take place there

although the dates for the exhibition were set far in advance, there was on overlap with the Seedling Fair; this happened because Split was struck by a snow storm; since the city was totally unprepared, there was a complete collapse of all public services; school was cancelled, city was blocked for days and it took several days for the cleaning to start

despite the alarming situation and the fact that over 900 people were injured (broken arms and legs), the mayor said that he finds the situation funny

the Seedling Fair, which was taking place in the Cellars before the Dimensions of Humour exhibition started, was closed for two weeks due to the abovementioned reasons

organizers of the Fair asked for prolongation and were granted permission

one part of the exhibition space was occupied by the Seedling Fair, thus splitting the exhibition in two; two events were to share the "living space" for two weeks

I decided to turn the situation to our advantage; I appropriated the Seedling Fair, i.e. I declared it my work; the only thing I added was a banner: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE or SAVE YOUR OWN ASS IF YOU CAN (SPAŠAVAJ SE KO MOŽE)

by doing this I managed to connect two "sections" of the exhibition into one whole

I could never have imagined this quantity of absurd, irony and parody; appropriation was an imposed solution

I especially liked the idea of work having two stages: before and after, with and without the Fair; the seedlings would be taken away and the only thing remaining would be the banner

this works refers to another work of mine, SIMULATION, in which I used same materials, i.e. plants and banners; in that work I simulated a specific image / scene, now I was given the materials and the situation

it is interesting to note that SIMULATION was set in Osijek, where the whole series of Dimensions of Humour exhibitions started

C'MON FOLKS! / 2011

"SNAPSHOT- CITY", Building under construction, District Trnje and Klovićevi dvori Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia

The exhibition project "Snapshot-city" was placed in the newly erected residential building in Trnje, one of the districts of Croatia's capital, Zagreb. The project opens the area of communication.
The artistic work in the delicate space of urban metamorphoses establishes a space and time frame for interaction between those that lived there, those that are moving in, and all of us who are interested in what happens with the city and its people.

Marina Viculin, curator
(Excerpt from the exhibition expose.)


As a part of this project, I exhibited two works. The idea of establishing contact and making acquaintances, which should develop into mutual trust, underlies both of my works.

during the exhibition opening, the visitors were offered mulled wine, tea and grilled sausages: C'MON, FOLKS!

the table becomes the center of the exhibition; the place where people gather, the point of contact between the visitors

"homey", pleasant atmosphere is created

connections are established between the newly comes (future tenants of the building) and the locals, who have been living in this neighborhood for years

the investor is aso inviting the buyers: C'MON, FOLKS!

FIRST CONTACT / 2011

"SNAPSHOT- CITY", Building under construction, District Trnje, Zagreb, Croatia

light installation

again, the topic of the work is making contact

the new building drastically changed the appearance of the old, crumbly neighborhood

in it's surrounding, the building looks like a foreign body, an alien

I placed the light installation at the top floor of the building

the light "matrix" was borrowed from Steven Spielberg's movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", where the first contact between the Earthlings and the extraterrestrial visitors is established through light and sound (the scientists used the five-tone motif to contact the alien space ship)

the building uses light to communicate with the neighborhood

an attempt to find a common language, to communicate and collaborate

Klovićevi dvori Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia

EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL / 2011

SC Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia

nine years after one of my first solo exhibitions, DON'T WORRY, EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL, I was again invited to exhibit at the same gallery 

the starting point for this work was my reflection on the work that I first exhibited at the gallery, and the position of the (then) unrecognized author and the (presently) affirmed artist 

I omitted the first part of first exhibition's title, now stating that EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL 

the title sounds reassuring 

the ultimate aim of every action is to control the situation; the unpredictability is unwanted

my career as an exhibiting artist, viewed through the prism of insecurity and uncertainty, is now replaced with the attitude of ultimate and absolute control over my actions / career

the evidence can be found in the work that I am exhibiting

everything starts when I roll three dices. I write down the combination of numbers and keep rolling the dices until I get the same combination again. Along the way, I write down all other combinations of numbers

once the cycle is "closed", I count how many times I got a single number and every of the possible combinations 

I do a statistical representation of my results, with charts and graphs

I toss the dices again and repeat the action with a new combination of numbers

although the number of possible combinations is limited, the final outcome is uncertain

coincidence control is an illusory goal; regardless of how much one is devoted to the work, the result is impossible to predict 

a bunch of seemingly useless calculations confirms the uselessness of the action

print

SHAME / 2011

text: PLACE A MIRROR HERE

"Dictionary of Everyday Relations" is a project realized in a partnership with daily newspaper Novi List

30 Croatian artists were invited to illustrate 30 terms (concepts) relating to human relations

the illustrations were published in alphabetical order in Mediteran, feulleton in the daily newspaper Novi List

each artist illustrated one term (concept)

I illustrated the term SHAME

MAYBE IT WILL HOLD / 2011

Studio Flight 777, Dubrovnik

cardboard, tape, 300 x 300 x 280 cm



To open a private gallery that will promote and exhibit contemporary art cannot be considered the wisest thing today. We might even call it insanity! This is exactly what Bozo Jurjevic decided to do.

From the very beginning Bozo has been doing the best he can to keep the program running. Most of his work can be characterized as improvisation, not a planned strategy. Some might say: Nothing new, nothing unusual... We are witnessing improvisation on all levels of society, politics and economics!

I placed a construction made of cardboard tubes in the middle of Bozo's gallery. The tubes are wrapped with brown self-adhesive tape. The fragile construction supports the ceiling and prevents it from falling down.

The support is symbolic: it symbolizes my support for (Bozo's) persistence, inspite of everything.

Maybe it will hold.

-text from catalogue-

MOVING IN / 2011

for me, the invitation to exhibit in the Mestrović Gallery was a great honor and recognition, since Mestrovic is one of the greatest Croatian artists

in spite that, I was aware that those kinds of exhibitions, especially in the city such as Split, are only possible because of the tourist season, and that they are in fact a part of the tourist offer

although this kind of museum "activity" is quite rare in Croatia, I could not ignore the "campaign" character of the project

this situation is similar to what we experience every day

"tourism" has become a stimulus and an excuse for most of the things that happen in Split 

although we like to say that we are a touristic city, we are almost always unprepared for the tourist season

construction works on the streets, on the buildings and in the public spaces are most intense during the touristic season. They create problems and cause chaotic situations, for both the tourists and the locals 

in addition to this, tourism is one of the means of earning extra money- many people in Split rent their apartments and houses during summer, or host relatives and friends

those everyday situations were the initial inspiration for this exhibition

I decided to move in the Mestrović Gallery

like in a "real" moving-in, I brought wooden crates and cardboard boxes 

I created the "under construction" situation: the works are just about the be finished, the exhibition is just about to be set

my message to Mestrović is that we have to "squeeze" ourselves: It is summer, and the guests have arrived!

almost all crates and boxes are sealed

I am aware of the fact that this is just temporary, that the moving-out is inevitable

the exhibition raises the question of our relation with the past and the heritage that has been entrusted to our care

for this exhibition, I made several works that directly refer to the works of Mestrović