Novi Sad – Shock Cooperatives Central Gallery
Ambient
installation:
THE TREAD
The ambient installation THE TREAD consists of 1000 breads laid on the floor. QUICKLIME is poured over the breads. The visitor is meant to walk over the breads in order to pass from one room into another, or to cross over from one end of the room to another.
THE TREAD marks the space that bases its visual existence on a blend of simple elements, BREADS[i] AND QUICKLIME[ii] (the elements that are not deprived of their deep symbolic values).
The amalgamation of these elements and the act of crossing over the final product of this amalgamation allows for a wide spectrum of meanings, emotional states and readings, depending on the discourse used to approach this work (psychological, mythically-ceremonious, ecological, historical, philosophical, socially-engaged).
- Quicklime is the personification of the Libido that is penetrating the Unconscious (Breads, Mother, Earth), for the purpose of self-actualization. Since the mother represents the unconscious, the tendency towards incest in fact represents the demand of the unconscious to be taken into consideration. Refusing this demand usually has negative consequences, which are manifested through a destructive act. By crossing over the blend of breads and quicklime, the visitor physically participates in self-actualization and personal individuation on a symbolic level.
- Through a mythical reflection, we can perceive the covering of the breads with quicklime, as an act of taming of the unconscious, and the destructive potential (Earth), all for the sake of permanent fertility which is the primary condition of existence.
- From an ecological standpoint, the blend represents a destructive product, the exploatation of resources (Earth, Nature) in which the human race perpetually participates, conserving its acts with the symbolic quicklime, accentuating the destrictive raod we take over and over every day.
- The socially-engaged aspect of this work refers to the personal story of the author. Every day, I pass by two Roma men who sell sacks filled withold bread and quicklimein plastic bags on the fringes of the farmer's market. By creating this work, they would be the unwitting participants of the project, because the bread and quicklime would be bought from them, which would improve their situation on an economical level, but on a content-engaged level, the attention would be directed towards people who make their living and base their existence on this sort of work, on a wide social scale of existence. I am fully aware that this does not solve the problem, but at least this act makes their presence visible and socially polemical.
The value of this work is reflected in its multitude of meanings, both on the level of content and on the level of form. This work can be perceived as an ambient instalation, a specific Ready-MADE, but also as a performance.
The entire work offers an indication of a story, but it still remains solely on the level of indication.
The place of synthesis of the story can only be the observer (participant), and the manner in which this synthesis occurs depends solely on it (the act of observation, participation-walking).
This work to a large extent insists on a specific type of perception, which is defined by the entire ambiance, and acts as a carrier of specific messages, which are translated form a visual language into a language of everyday experience.
[i] Bread is a symbol of essential food, a symbol of spiritual transformation. The Christian liturgy speaks of the holy bread of eternal life.
[ii]Quicklime is the material used in construction, but in this case, quicklime is seen as the material whose purpose is usually the decontamination of mass graves, especially in the history of the 20
th century, ever since the Spanish Civil War, World War II, all the way to the last conflicts in the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Its symbolism is in the role of decomposition, which gives this work a unique energy.
