Installation / sculptural object;
Variable dimensions (approximately length 200–400 cm, width 45 cm)
The installation HAVE A SPINE evokes a hybrid spinal column composed of 33 wooden segments, referring to the number of vertebrae in the human body. Inspired by the artist’s personal experience with a family member’s spinal surgery, the work intertwines biomedical references with symbolic materials— wood, steel (cables), and bacterial cellulose (SCOBY)—to explore the fragility, adaptability, and resilience of the body. The vertebra-like forms, made from recycled wooden hangers and “embalmed” with layers of paper and organic textures, evoke skin and internal tissue. Situated between anatomy and metaphor, the spine becomes a pillar of identity, moral strength, and imagination. In a contemporary context, the work also functions as a metaphorical structure—a column of inner necessity, a belief in the creative impulse, and the preservation of identity through the body. Empty hangers, acting as vertebrae of absence, construct a structured void that reflects the condition of identity in the digital age.
Object Wood, paper and SCOBY/bacterial cellulose;
Dimensions 25 x 45 cm
WHO ARE YOU VERTEBRA conceptually continues the installation HAVE A SPINE, presenting a singular sculptural object that evokes the idea of the vertebra as a fundamental unit of both internal and external structure. A recycled wooden hanger becomes the material and symbolic foundation, covered with layers of paper and bacterial cellulose (SCOBY) — a surface that evokes the sensation of skin or internal tissue. As an isolated element of a larger system, the work functions as a micro-version of the spinal column, but also as a standalone meditation on identity, the body, and its symbolic functions. The vertebra carries the structure of the body, but also a story of resilience. Placed in space, the work becomes a quiet yet persistent question: “Who are you?” — an invitation to introspection and to listening to one’s own presence in a time marked by bodily dislocation and psychological fragmentation. In this piece, material and metaphor intertwine in the search for what makes us whole, upright, and present.
Group exhibition “SCULPTURAL: JOURNEY… SPACE… CONTEXT”, organized by BelArt.
Curator: Svetlana Mladenov; Venue: SULUV Gallery, Novi Sad / Subotica, Serbia, 2025.
Photo: Goran Despotovski.