Love & Hate concept by Nada Prlja for www.tank.tv 15th October - 15th November 2007
The concept for the October-November online tank.tv exhibition has been defined by the artist Nada Prlja. Artists: Nemanja Cvijanović, Olgica Dimitrovska, Vesna Miličević, Nada Prlja, Nikola Uzunovski, Škart and Žaneta Vangeli The geographical region selected for the project Love & Hate is the area defined by former Yugoslavia, encompassing Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The region was chosen for an artistic examination by tank.tv because of the unique political and economic situation that has evolved since the death of President Tito in 1980 and the subsequent dissolution of the former nation state. These ex-Yugoslav countries now find themselves in what is popularly known as the phase of "Transition". It is a state brought about by the transformation of a socialist society into one of (apparent) liberal democracy but also related to the recent sectarian civil wars, and how their aftermath has contributed to a sense of 'incompleteness' for these new societies. The video projects featured in October's tank.tv exhibition inhabit the very territory named "Transition" and reflect the relationship between the past, the present and the future. In Nemanja Cvijanović's video project Marinetti vaffanculo feat. Spielberg, the artist sings along and whistles the tune of the song 8 souls blown up by a single bomb , borrowed from the futuristic poet F.T.Marinetti. By performing this casual act, the artist adds a cynical aspect to a grotesque scene from Spielberg's war film Saving Private Ryan, and in so doing, Cvijanović 'has a laugh' with the past, present and the future . He looks ironically at human nature and the realities of any war. By contrast, in Vesna Milicević's video work Somebody Else's Daughters, the artist decides to speak out against her own nation. Vesna Milicević chooses to give both the victim and the aggressor equal consideration. The victim is a Romanian girl while the perpetrators are men, involved in human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution within the area of ex –Yugoslavia. Milicević positions herself, self-sacrificially, as a servant of the truth, despite the fact that it is painful - as she herself is a daughter of the nation, to which these aggressors belong. Milicević's video occupies, in a very direct manner, the situation of the transition between two systems where monstrous acts, such as the one shown, can become an unfortunate reality. The seven artists featured on tank.tv as part of Love & Hate , describ e and criticise the turbulence of a system that in reality should not yet be acknowledged as a system at all, if one accepts Mao's statement: 'Chaos is a perfect condition for a society in transition.' www.tank.tv www.tank.tv/freshmoves.htm -- - - - - - - - - - - - - Alice O'Reilly tank.tv 5th floor 49-50 Great Marlborough street London W1F 7JR [EMAIL PROTECTED] T +44 (0)207434 0110 F +44 (0)207434 9232 http://www.tank.tv - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now showing: Love & Hate 15th October – 15th November 2007 Fresh Moves - Out now! Order your copy on www.tank.tv "A significant archive of creative practices in the early years of twenty-first century England" Tyler Coburn, Tomorrow Unlimited --- tank.tv is an inspirational showcase for innovative work in film and video. Dedicated to exhibiting and promoting emerging and established international artists, www.tank.tv acts as a major online gallery and archive for video art. A platform for contemporary moving images.
