Exhibited in ILLUMINATORS in Yekaterinburg Russia

opening 10.4.2008

http://www.artpolitika.ru/illuminators

REVALUATION

Performance in public place

The movement of a dancer has the intention to create circles in a space. The circles represent the public system (political, cultural, economical, etc.) that has an impact on our life, with or without our approval.

The “tondo” is a micro system of intimate space, a system that exists among others. I see the intimate and the public structures as closed systems in which we could fit in or not. The movement of the dancer creates a intimate story that is trying to fit in a public structure, but the figure is constantly breaking the perfect shape and creating his/her own ones. The figure represents the autonomy of a living being, with the frustrations that he/she develops in the process of growth.

The main shape – the circle - can be seen as an ocular or as a general shape of life path, that I understand as a repetition in general. As Artists, I think that we have the same path to follow, but we have a larger autonomy than the others. We constantly revaluate the system, we tighten its borders and we account for our actions under the autonomy of Art.

The interconnection between the space of the dancer and the people involved by chance in the performance represent the relations tied in our society, inside the system. In the end: Are these relations under our control? Or, since they are tied in the system, is the system itself that control our relations? Who is the winner? The individual or the system? Is it ours the path in which we choose to walk? Or is controlled by the system of our political, economical or cultural structures? Are we really free in our decisions?

The second part of the video goes backwards: it is the revaluation of a life that ended. What could we do better? Do we accept the past or we are sorry for the things we did? After all, is the power of being still so strong to arrive to our life end with a smile? What means to be significant? And to whom? Did our life as artists have an impact in the society?

Original duration: 42 minutes.

Underwear

When I thought about the word “underwear” the first association that came to my mind was with the color white.
Why?
Because in old times it was usually white.

From the hygienic perspective, the white cotton underwear can be wash at 95° C and so it is clinical clean.
I was wondering what kind of underwear women wear nowadays in the everyday life. Do they choose to wear it because of the color, mood, sex appeal, health…? I took portraits of women of different ages, to see the difference between young and older. I chose eight portraits to represent this project.

Interesting point of view:

- Influence of the media, fashion, MTV, magazines.
- Are they sexually active?
- Are they caring for their health?
- Personality.
- Stage of life (still a girl, in a relationship or not, mother, grandmother)

situAKTcija
(eng. situAKTion) / 2007

gallery KUH FRANCE PREŠEREN, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The purpose of the photographic series is to have a different perception of those invisible everyday moments which are not seen in our routine lifetime. The central figure is taking her place in a situation hidden to a possible outer viewer, who could see it in a conventional man perspective (the typical Peeping Tom spying a sensual, erotic or sexual hidden scene). This figure is a woman having a normal behavior during the real moments of her life-drama. With situAKTcija I show to the public the hidden nature of these lifetime moments.

Creative 50
2007

Invited to make a project for 50th European Community anniversary, I realized 50 portraits photography and illustrations in collaboration with the designer Renata Šifrar. We wanted to create a creative connection with the people, so we chose 50 people, one person for every single year of life (from one to fifty years old). We took portraits of them and, moreover, we asked them to draw self-portraits. The project was exhibited in the House of European Union in Slovenia.

KITSCH /ART
2006

concept: Maja Slavec
realization and development: Marko Šebrek and Maja Slavec

The shopping centre Gallerija Gosposka (“Gosposka” means “high society”) used for the opening the idea of Cow Parade – www.cowparade.com - but utilizing dummies instead. They invited Slovenian artists and citizens to participate. The project didn’t have any art curator and the organization gave to every participant 100 € for the realization expenses. They said that this opportunity could be a good reference for the artists, because of the exposition to the media. But I didn’t agree. And so I decided to take two dummies - man and woman, black and white - and used them for a video project. Finished the video, I finally sent back the dummies, with a message for the missing curator written on them. On the black dummy was written the explanation of word KITSCH and on the white one a definition of ART, quoting the Slovenian theorist of art Milan Butina.

AVTOPORTRET / 2006
National Art Gallery Maribor, Slovenia

CONCEPT
The circle is a symbol of the cyclic and the repetitive. The inner circle represents the subconscious and the wishes. The outer circle represents the reality.

BARBIE
Since many decades, Barbie is a common and universal toy for girls. For me, it is a typical shown-like-innocent tool with the latent aim to educate a potential future consumer of products connected with the beauty standards. The today girl playing with Barbie will be the tomorrow ideal buyer of the cosmetic and fashion industry. So, the Barbie in the inner circle displays the subconscious wish of every woman. This subconscious effects and worsens the women dissatisfaction with the reality and put her complexes in an increasing process.

REAL WOMEN BODIES
In the outer circle are placed the real bodies of the women. They stand on tiptoe, in the usual posture of the Barbie.

CHILDREN'S HEADS
The heads of the child on the women bodies symbolized the enigma.

The little girls are not aware of the problems connected with the beauty, because the experiences - at that stage of life – are not in conflict with their external appearance. But when they get to the puberty, there is a switch and their bodies undergo an obvious change. I show my own experience: during the adolescence, the changes of my body were expected as the typical images that the media reinforce, but the opposite happen. This is to say that from the moment in which I am aware of my deviation from the normative image of the beauty, I become mature and prepared for my self control. Anyway, at the same time, I become a part of a consumer chain.

SET UP
The purpose of the circle is to rotate in the space. It is controlled by the observer, but the final landing of the object is unpredictable. With turning this circle the active visitors put the shapes - women bodies and Barbie - into life. This allows a contact between the inner and the outer shapes.

The fast movement leads to the possible connection between the ideal shape of Barbie and one of the different shapes of the women. This to say that all the women are carrying a fragment of a Barbie inside, but the future is unpredictable. The rotating circle it is like a circle-of-luck. Turn it and wait till it stops. When it stops, the woman that you will be is reveal: one body, one shape. But it is a real one, not an ideal one.

TERROR / 2006 Slovinian National Theatre Maribor

After a successful cooperation with the dance Theatre Plesna Izba Maribor, I was again invited to prepare a concept that was planned to be tuned with the dance performance TERROR of the choreographer Marko Urbanek. I created the performance introduction that took place when the audience was escorted in the dance hall. The show was about the state of consciousness and the influence of a traumatic experience from the past. The dancers are represented in portraits and each one expresses seven abnormal personalities or the seven sins.