Screen shot from ‘Walking around the fence in two ways’, 2019, 4’:30”
During my residency at Belgrade Art Studio Residency, the city was in a state of turmoil. Every Saturday, there were protests in the streets calling for President Vucic to resign, as citizens were fed up with corruption and abuse of power. At the same time, the TRG Republic Square was undergoing a reconstruction plan that was met with criticism from the opposition leader and others who saw it as yet another example of corruption and mismanagement.
In response to this complex and chaotic situation, I created two video performances. In the first, I walked with a ball around the circumference of the square, and during the performance, the ball rolled through the fences and entered the prohibited area. This was a metaphor for the way that corruption and abuse of power can seep into every corner of society, even into areas that are meant to be protected or off-limits.
In the second performance, I struggled to walk with a stone, symbolizing the weight and burden that these issues can place on individuals and communities. Both of these performances were a poignant reminder of the intersecting forces at play in our world, and the ways in which art can serve as a powerful medium for addressing and responding to social and political tensions. vimeo.com/user3273683/