MARIJA AVRAMOVIC

The Smithereens

Photo credits Milan Kralj

The presented works are the result of questioning the elements of absurd, irony and humour, inspired by the approaches in literature, found notably in Raymond Queneau’s ‘Exercise of style’. This influence led to a tendency to show that triviality of subject doesn’t have genuine significance and that, in this case, visual instruments are the ones that make certain things significant or interesting. In my work this results in the usage of decorative elements in the context of drawing or painting. The works which I am presenting are based on a classical form of painting and drawing, but considering the techniques and materials used, they are at the same time, a negation of that classical approach. This is a series about forgetting the lessons and rules of classical painting and instead drawing upon creative instinct which was developed during years of academic practice. It is also an attempt of precise visual calculation in presentation of works. Sewing on paper, textile or canvas has opened some questions about aesthetics, beauty, tactility, as well as ideas of enjoyment and fun for the observer while looking at a piece of art. Reduction of the elements in an image has led to clearer expression and more direct communication between work and observer. In the context of an exhibition this also enhances the importance of the installation of works themselves, because the size and positioning of some pieces is dependent on the space where they are exhibited. This reduction leads to a focus on space and absence (white paper or gallery walls) which has become an additional element of my work. Reducing the information that serves only as narrative, I try to emphasize the pure visual impulse within the observer. The use of real objects as elements (bells, thread, glitter; materials whose primary purpose is decoration) has a more direct communication with the observer than the unnecessary reproduction, such as the painting of these objects on canvas. Elements of these works, their colors, sizes and forms, agree rather to absurdity and auto-irony than on the banality and naivety of the potential narrative. The resulting narrative goes as far the general associations made by the observer in response to visual and sensory signifiers; signifiers such as suggestions of houses, clouds and labyrinths in the designs, as well as the use of bells as a provocation of sound and touch.

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