Lag
Performance, video installation Custom made wood-paper screen, single-channel video, sound, 12’ 34’’ (loop) The performance, titled “Lag”, deals with plural temporality of the medium, challenging the traditional understanding of the relationship between performance and its documentation (where the former ontologically precedes and, hence, authorizes the latter). “Lag” comprises a looped video projection on a paper screen stretched on a wooden frame. The video in question (https://vimeo.com/339872042) is a digital recording of manual, repeated, piercing of a previously projected white background using a needle. The ensuing image is projected on a new paper screen, then perforated again using the same needle. The performance involves the repetition of the same action in an attempt to recreate the needle punches in the projected video. The trace left behind by this act of destruction now allows the light to pass through, creating a secondary image on the wall behind it. The activity is essentially linear and defined by said repetition, while correctness is the only reliable way of controlling the output of such a delicate manual effort, given that a slightest deviation will affect the appearance of the final result. The minimal changes in appearance between the projected video and the freshly perforated screen further emphasize the temporal dependence of the creative process. The inability to recreate an identical copy of the original punching trail and pace demonstrates the volatility of one’s perception of time with respect to the video as a time-based medium. Upon the completion of the performance, the setup and the end result (the video projection, the perforated screen, and the projection on the wall behind the screen) are left as a self-sufficient installation. The video continues playing on a loop and now seems to be lagging behind the physical trace of the needle. “Lag” is about the present, even though it is made of fragments of the past. The viewer is invited to engage with the time as it goes by, but without a reference to the real-world time of day. As it moves from digital to analog, and intangible to tangible, and back, this work explores both the transformation of the underlying medium through light, sound, and matter; and the notions of memory and time.

From ‘already no longer’ to ‘not yet’
Double-channel video, colour, sound, 7’ 1’’ In collaboration with Angyvir Padilla "From ‘already no longer’ to ‘not yet’" is a multimedia installation encompassing a double-channel video, a sound recorded and played independently of the video, and a triangular space where the videos are displayed on two opposing screens. The video feeds are separate recordings of two pairs of hands performing the familiar action of bubble wrap popping. The screens are positioned so that they catch each other’s reflection, hinting towards an abstract dialogue between the actors. As one performer attempts to follow the other, their perception of time, however personal, is influenced by that of the followed, yet an immediate grasp of this dependence eludes the audience. Meanwhile, as the acute-angled shape of the room embraces the spectator, a third temporality emerges – the viewer’s own. All elements of the setup echo the artwork’s central themes: the subjective experience of time opposed to clock time and its volatility. Video: https://vimeo.com/396321743

An Erased Letter
Artist book, lithography "An Erased Letter" represents a mute book consisting of seemingly blank sheets of ruled paper. Those pages, however, came to be through an act of erasure of the contents of a letter I had written to my father in 1999, while he was serving in the Serbian military in the Kosovo war. Two decades later, while reading the letter in an entirely different context, I ponder to what extent our memories and past narratives form our present perception, as well as our perception of the present. By erasing the narrative that once was, I attempted to create room for those that are yet to be. This has consequently led to my decision to multiply the sheets and create an empty notebook – a “useful” object; a placeholder for a future “owner” and their own narrative. Yet, by rejecting the previous narrative, I wonder, am I not creating just another kind of narrative? One which is, perhaps, not meant to tell a story of the past, but which the past, nevertheless, gives rise to? This conundrum has significantly influenced my choice of the medium and mode of production. Instead of literally effacing the narrative from the letter or digitally reproducing it, I have opted for the medium of lithography. By involving the manual phases of the lithographic process in the conceptualization of the idea, I have observed the process itself as a metaphor of the concept of time as an unavoidable component of narrative. The activity is essentially linear and defined by a repetition of ordered intervals of varying length. Correctness is the only reliable way of controlling the output of such a delicate manual effort, given that a slightest alteration will affect the quality and appearance of the print. The minimal changes in the appearance of my prints reflect the temporal dependence of the creative process which is conceptually identified with time as a narrative component.