EXHIBITIONS
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EXHIBITIONS
In her exhibition „Suzovača“ Dea Dzankovic explored “Kafana” as one very particular setting of verbal interaction, as an important (spatial) nucleus of social exchange in Serbia.
Kafana is a place where one goes to let go, it is an environment of emotional outbursts, shouting, crying, physical confrontation, confessions, penance, and glass shattering galore.
And one of the key ingredients of this unique atmosphere is rakija. It is the oil that greases this unpredictable engine of emotions. “Suzovača” refers to the central artwork in the exhibition, a bottle of rakija, based on tears. In this case, the tears of Dea Dzankovic. A certain type of a salty metaphor of bottled emotions.
The title of the exhibition and its penultimate piece came about as a play on words, from typical names for rakija depending on the flavor, and suze (meaning tears) as its key ingredient. Moreover, it represents a specific formula that puts together tears and alcohol in a drinkable form.
Art always is a medium of communication. Sometimes to express a concrete thought, vision or aspect, sometimes to articulate an abstract or emotional universe beyond words. And vice versa: Art has always been influenced by communication. Arguments, discussions, criticism and new inspirations are one of the key origins for creating art. Often these places of communication turn into art themselves. Raphael’s Fresco „The School of Athens“, Frans Hals „Shrovetide Revellers“ or Diego Velazquez „Luncheon“ among countless others depict different forms of verbal communication in different social settings from different times. „Bodegones“, the depiction of everyday life situations, often located in kitchens, restaurants or bars, are highlighting these places of personal exchange.
Denis Leo Hegic and Jan Gustav Fiedler
Curators
Dea Dzankovic is an interdisciplinary artist based in Belgrade, Serbia. She holds a BA degree in Media and Arts production from the Academy of Arts in Belgrade (2014), and two MA degrees in Visual Arts, first being from Sabanci university in Istanbul (2016), and latter from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. As of 2022, she became a laureat of Mangelos prize and a member of the new media section of ULUS.
Her artistic practice includes performance, installation, photography, filmmaking, music and text. The artworks she produces are a direct result of her environment, with all the societal constructs, taboos and boundaries it entails. She explores these instances and the effects of various forms of social conditioning on the individual and collective psyche. Her works are oriented towards involving the viewer as much as possible and creating spaces for intervention where one can expose, examine, engage and transcend the imposed conditioning in order to forge a narrative that renders connection rather than separation.
When she stepped out of her fears, Dea Dzankovic started to inspire awe on the art scene with an inexorable speed. Her childhood in a multi-ethnic community made her more withdrawn into herself, and there, inside her, a world began to be born that still today drives her to flirt with her fears. She wanted a safe career as much as possible, but to be at least close to the art that lured her from all sides. She chose production, learned a lot and has no regrets. In parallel, she listened to herself, independently learned to play the guitar, sing, write poetry, so it was the turn of photography, direction, video installation. The moment she repented was the moment when, due to fear of failure in the field of art (which meant her entire inner world and a little more), she chose to “play it safe”. She began to build a career in the ruthless corporate world. She experienced a complete breakdown of spirit and body, coming face to face with the phenomenon of burn out. When she had nowhere else to go, with some strength of spirit that had always been indomitable inside her, she showed her teeth to her fears, grabbed the burn-out by the throat and pulled her to the surface. She quit her job and with a great desire to help others not experience what she did, she decided to scream. It was her first major collective performance in which the residents of Belgrade supported her, screaming in the main squares with with her, understanding everything about mental restrictions, helplessness, anger and complete exhaustion. Life put her in a situation where she had to choose art in order to survive, overcome her fears and show others how to do it, and she finally started to live! We have known Dea Dzankovic for some time now as a promising artist of authentic expression, and more recently as the manager of the Belgrade gallery Monolog, in which she herself exhibits. Her last exhibition, entitled “Suzovača“, once again touched on emotions that are stigmatized in today’s society, and with her approach to this topic through the phenomenon of the kafana, she once again caused great attention.
Maja Buncic
Harper’s BAZAAR
