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

THE NEWER HISTORY OF THE CROATS / 2011

mixed media, 160 x 130 x 80 cm



in the ground floor of the Gallery two Mestrović's works are exhibited:  Reverie and In Despair

the Gallery's floor is made of two kinds of natural stone tiles, arranged in a checkerboard pattern- this reminded me of the Republic of Croatia's coat of arms

I made a sculpture of undefined shape

the title of the sculpture evokes another Mestrović's work: History of the Croats

my sculpture is placed between Mestrović's sculptures  Reverie and In Despair

this position best describes the current position of Croatia

the fact that we have an independent and sovereign country cannot hide the fact that we are far from the vision that we had when the country was being created

the "in-between" situation; between the dreams and despair

Ivan Meštrović

Reverie / 1927

relief, marble, 88 x 187 x 40,5 cm

Ivan Meštrović

In Despair / 1927

relief, marble, 116,5 x 92,5 x 36 cm

Ivan Meštrović

The History of the Croats / 1932

bronze

PEACOCK TAIL / 2011

mixed media, 410 x 205 x 4 cm



a cardboard construction is placed behind the sculpture of Job, which is considered to be one of Mestrović's mater-pieces

my work cannot be observed separately, and vice versa

by adopting and overtaking Mestrović's sculpture, I adopt the quality oh his work; I "adorn myself with borrowed plumes"

RANDY GIRLS / 2011

RANDY GIRLS, set- up



a series of six reliefs made of Styrofoam, five Randy Girls and one Big Randy Girl

the reliefs are exhibited in the room that holds Mestrovic's sculptures of women and his drawings of male nudes

the message that the reliefs transmit is that of women being reduced to shallow stereotypes that flood the media (especially male magazines)

the enhanced reading of the works is accomplished through contrast with the forms and materials of Mestrović's women: mothers, widows and nudes

I do not compete with Mestrović, neither with the materials nor with my sculpting skills

RANDY GIRL 1 and 2, XPS, cardboard, 200 x 100 x 12 cm

RANDY GIRL 2, XPS, cardboard, 200 x 100 x 12 cm

RANDY GIRL 3, XPS, cardboard, 200 x 100 x 12 cm

RANDY GIRL 4, XPS, cardboard, 200 x 100 x 12 cm

RANDY GIRL 5, XPS, cardboard, 200 x 100 x 12 cm

BIG RANDY GIRL, XPS, cardboard, 100 x 300 x 12 cm