Perceptions of Contemporaneity - The Universal Sea
17 September - 30 September 2019
Opening on Tuesday, 17 September at 07:30 PM
Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina
Novi Sad, Serbia
Artists: Albena Baeva (Bulgaria), Lana Čmajčanin (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Roman Kroke (Germany), Jovana Popić (Croatia/Serbia/Germany), Sanja Latinović (Serbia), Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau (Austria/France), Robertina ŠebjaničAleš Hieng–Zergon and Ida Hiršenfelder (Slovenia), Júlia Véghand Erika Kapronczai (Hungary), Miloš Trakilović (Yugoslavia/Germany), Mariam Zakarian (Denmark)
Curated by Sanja Kojić Mladenov (Serbia) and Nicole Loeser (Germany)
The exhibition of VR and interactive works, videos, (public) spatial and site-specific installations as well as objects is curated by Sanja Kojić Mladenov and Nicole Loeser. It takes on the idea of ‘The Universal Sea’, the interdisciplinary art and innovation project fighting against water pollution, that explores collaboration models within diverse groups of society. Furthermore, it raises questions on the extent of the connection to natural environments today and search for an utopian state of mind through it. It seems that the current sustainability movement focuses on embracing collaboration models between science, technology and business. ‘The Universal Sea’ aims at including artistic research and practices as creatives should be part of innovation processes and can contribute to knowledge production. Art engages in questioning and rethinking existing structures and systems. Artists with their interdisciplinary, liberal, creative and discrete thinking are able to initiate discussions and to create non-verbal as well as emotionally intriguing metaphors for understanding of the challenges of our contemporary time. Sharing the concerns about the contempt of nature such as impact of polluters and waste in the marine environment of the Danube region, the exhibition shows artists as sensitive thinkers and catalysts for change of perception by reflecting on communication, visualization, acting and participation. Invited artists create ideas and visions, making new aspects visible by using various forms of artistic research to understand the problem of ignoring the need to act as well as to establish individual forms and methods to generate new spaces of possibilities to collaborate to tackle the issues.