G. Anđelić-Galić

Skills: Duplex 2012-2018

Absence – Odsutnost

After exhibiting her artworks in the solo show I had a dream…, a sort of homage to Kazimir Malevich, in Duplex100m2 last February, Gordana Anđelić-Galić is now presenting her new body of works such as drawings and a video projection / performance titled Home Sweet Home. As art historian Maja Bobar pointed out on the occasion of the artist’s solo exhibition … In transition… held at the National Gallery of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2003, Gordana Anđelić-Galić started her career as a painter, but she then became one of the most engaged artists in the area of installation and performance in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In post-war Sarajevo, the artist has been dealing primarily with consideration about the Bosnian conflict, particularly focusing on the suffering of civilians. The focus of this new exhibition Absence is well explained by the artist herself.

When did you start working around the concept of absence?

I already thought about ‘absence’ while preparing my last show I Had a Dream, but actually it was long before that, now that I think about it. Traces of what I’m doing right now are visible in artworks made ten years ago, or even prior to that. That is why at this exhibition I am also including one old piece that perhaps constitutes the starting point for Absence.

The artworks that you will present at Duplex100m2 were made specifically for this show. Could you tell us something about them?

This is in a way my renewed return to drawing. For the umpteenth time.
I wanted to show what is invisible, what is not there in the picture/drawing but what exists within us. I wanted to show the absence.
Absence is related to presence, to the visibility in the invisibility, and to the manifestation of visibility behind what lies behind; what seems to be vague is always determined by the social, cultural and historical context in which the drawing/image is produced.
The absence emphasizes the presence, not only in its material form. The absence of peace, freedom, respect and love is what actually defines their importance.
That what is missing speaks more than what is present because it allows the viewer to use their own ability of perception and growth.

Is there any link between this exhibition Absence and your last solo show I had a Dream?

From the onset my show at Duplex100m2 was conceived as a two-part exhibition, although at first glance it does not seem so. The first exhibition dealt with the deconstruction of images; all along I drew inspiration from Malevich’s black square and the thinking behind that black square. These ideas led me to this exhibition Absence.

Why wallpaper?

The motif of wallpaper, in this case, is in the background and to me it has the same role and significance of the color white within Malevich’s black square: it makes the square visible.