Material experimentation – mixed media
The series of organic paintings were one-year-lasting projects during my bachelor academic studies as a new experiment with biodegradable materials, which as a whole is entitled „Project: 0”. They were made with various natural and unconventional materials, such as soil, sand, wheat, recycled-paper, wax, with minimal usage of colored pigments (red/blue, black/white). The main elements the works are focused on are the Worldwide natural catastrophes, and also on the development of technology, which gets various biological species mutated with non-natural elements. The paradox of the series, with a mix of synthetic materials, raw and organic materials are presented as they are striving for harmony. The artistic interventions with the previous elements were presented as a playful unity of the shape, composition, color and texture. After a few years of technological development of natural materials, the previous series of organic paintings were scraped and didn’t have the chance to be presented for various reasons.
I view my finished work as my answer to hyper-production in the art world (and other fields also). The labile cultural state in my home country Serbia, when the World-wide pandemic was announced in 2020, had a big influence on my works. During that period the Cultural workers got minimal financial support from our government. The funding of „Project: 0” was realized through an artistic operation, where the art pieces were set on fire, and it was documented using photography and video. 15 works were placed upon each other and they were set on fire. Each work was digitally copied and saved beforehand, and later that copy became the new replacement for the original. The new copied works have the same measurements as the previously burnt ones, 50 x 50 or 40 x 40 centimeters. This took place in my grandparents’ back yard, in a village close to my hometown Novi Sad, where I gained a lot of inspiration for my artistic practice as I grew up. The remains of the 15 works were buried a few meters from the fire. The other half was presented to the audience as a „ready-made object”. The works are still as they were, they have only just changed their shapes and became unified.
