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Galerija Skuc : Nemanja Cvijanovic - DO NOT FUCK WITH SOCIAL DEMOCRACY! - 27 July 2011 to 28 Aug 2011 Current Exhibition |
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Nemanja Cvijanovic: Do not fuck with Social Democracy, 2011.
Courtesy of the artist. |
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DO NOT FUCK WITH SOCIAL DEMOCRACY! Nemanja Cvijanovic July 27, 2011 – August 28, 2011 Opening on Wednesday, 27th July, at 20.00 Today, in a time of prevalent social and political apathy, when it seems that the only solutions for the ‘liberation’ of society are either incitements to hatred or drinking cold beer in the shade of the lime trees, the Croatian visual artist Cvijanoviæ presents his new project in Škuc Galley. The artist’s recognisable visual language constitutes some sort of ‘heritage’ and original evolution of the extremely convincing and recognisable period of Croatian conceptual art of the 1960s and 70s. At the subject level, Cvijanovic focuses mainly on current political, economic and social issues, which he seeks to juxtapose with history, ideology, and the art system. His work includes a fair share of criticism and humour, which is very rare in contemporary art, appearing only sporadically since the Fluxus movement in the 1960s. Cvijanovic‘s work balances engagement with current issues, criticism and humour, and can therefore be read at several levels, which makes it very effective. The show in Škuc Gallery includes only the latest work, entitled Do not fuck with Social Democracy!, which is a visual and sound installation extending throughout the gallery. Like some of his other works, it seems like a metaphor with which he is striving to draw attention to the dangers of the ideological mechanisms lurking in the individual. The ‘surrender’ of the individual in a society provides the best platform for the emergence of radical statements based on the manipulation and abuse of ideas and teachings. Cvijanovic's work in Škuc Gallery conveys this directly, symbolically revealing the ideological mechanism, as well as directly involving the viewers, thus highlighting the significance of their role in society. Upon entering the gallery, the viewers find themselves within some sort of riddle, as the space is almost completely void and exists mainly on a symbolic level. The installation resembles a spatial rebus, where the viewer receives a key during their first walk around the gallery space, with the help of which they ‘complete’ the exhibition experience outside the gallery space. By juxtaposing the empty gallery space and symbols, Nemanja Cvijanovic emphasises the conceptual level of the work, discouraging a physical contemplation of it. The main motif of the exhibition is a white flag, whose symbolic origin dates back almost two thousand years, when it was first waved as a sign of surrender on a battlefront of the Han dynasty. The surrender, the short moment between the transition from one ideology to another, a moment of silence when the individual is completely void of everything and therefore, naturally, is most vulnerable. With Cvijanovic’s intervention, the white flag as a symbol of surrender is transformed into a revolutionary and ideologically coloured red. In relation to the viewer, the gallery works as a space of ideology which is impossible to avoid, while the ideology’s deceit is so obvious that it is impossible to exit without any difficulties. It is precisely this point of symbolic transition, the transformation of the emptied white flag into red and back, that is the main message of Cvijanovic’s installation and the trap he sets for the viewer. In addition to successfully continuing the tradition of Croatian conceptual art, Nemanja Cvijanovic is one of those artists who has continuously reflected upon the state of society and held a mirror up to it. Although the installation Do not fuck with Social Democracy! particularly exposes the issue of the abuse of social democracy, it is a metaphor for abuse by any kind of ideological mechanism. The individual segments of the installation are formally executed so that the main motif of the exhibition, the white flag can become not only red, but also black, green, yellow or blue with only minimal intervention. This presents the spectator with a question about the differences between different political ideologies and their mechanisms of manipulation. Above all, the work of Nemanja Cvijanovic draws attention to the responsibility of the individual in relation to detecting contemporary social reality, the reality of historic memory and the establishment of value systems. Curated by: Tev� Logar You are also most kindly invited to the closing event, the informal talk with the artist, Nemanja Cvijanovic, with food and drinks. The event will take place on Saturday, August 27th, at 15.00. The project is supported by the City of Rijeka, City Department of Culture. Galerija Škuc Stari trg 21,1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija [email protected] www.galerija.skuc-drustvo.si |
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