JAŠA

At the Dawn of yet Another Age of Absurdity: Composition No. 6

A spatial and performing intervention

Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana

Friday, 18 January 2019, 7:30—9:30 p.m.

Performance by JAŠA

Sound performance in collaboration with Janez Vidrih

At the Dawn of yet Another Age of Absurdity: Composition No. 6 is a new edition in a series of performative interventions developed by the Slovenian artist JAŠA in the last two years as a summary and a continuation of the scenario of his 29-week stay at the Venice Biennial in 2015.

In light of our deep ambivalence about our global socio-economic situation, the question of the political commitment, in art and elsewhere, seems to be calling out for alternatives that do not shy away into the usual underground. The poetical, the individual act of defiance, a voice, sound, a repeating gesture as a poetical stance and standing resistance.

In essence, the composition remains the same: ephemeral, gestural, a form of resistance, only now reacting to a different context, as it molds in response to a delicate and menacing political climate. The core is an architecture of resistance, which manifests actions through presence and language. Actions and interventions are spread throughout the eight-day performance, reacting to the local, the temporal, a simplicity is fueled by the urgency of the now, a repercussion in time and space, we must recoil quickly, react to what is happening around us, being immediate and relevant. (Reactionary—immediacy is the medium. Relevancy—say it out loud, now, instantly, perform, proceed.)

There is tension under the surface. Egocentrism has swallowed us. Today’s rapidly changing day-to-day necessitates action, comment, responsibility, response. We are in an urgent state of ideological crisis that has resulted in the psychological breakdown of society. The situation needs constant attention, it requires reaction, as individuals and as different groups as a whole. All of it was there from the beginning; it now depends on which elements will surface through, which emotions will become the generator for a particular ideology. Art has always had the responsibility of being both a catalyzer and a generator. Punk as an attitude was a reaction to a stiffening tissue of the era; Dada was significant opposition to boiling extremes that brought humanity to meet its most monstrous side. In each inch of our bodies lies a potential disaster; as we are facing the most existential dilemmas on every step, each cell can decide to deteriorate and bring out the worst in us while we are dreaming of beauty. At times, it may be better to limit yourself than to continue the illusion of all accessible freedom, which ends in nothing less than limitless ego. A lake of me-s to drown in, a lake of us to love me.

Alternative forms of communication do exist; visual, musical, symbols, patterns— what we need are regular executions, to be exercised regularly. An exchange of situations creates the uniqueness of experiences. A Beuysian gesture in its potential to transform society. A simple exchange; a catalyst for hope. An act that will be what it is. Through repetition, gesture, and embrace, we reach the shores of ones most authentic self. In his recent composition’s, JAŠA limits himself into a reverse situation—an honest way to face the self in front of self. Every thought can deteriorate. Every character can have many shades. A manifestation of a contrasted process that embraces aggression as emotion to give birth to the poetic. The obscurity of space reveals the preciousness of each gesture, gestures that parallel and overlap in time and space. All in one body, a dance with gravity. Now. It is time to scream in the face of absurdity. Only together can we erupt and break free. Openness. A dense cloud of energy and spontaneity. When all is said and done, we transition into memory; we leave no trace.

Composition series was established in 2017, curated by Mitra Korasheh.

Composition No.1

Korasheh + Grunert, Tania Grunert Gallery, New York, USA

Supported by WE.ARE Institute

Composition No.2

HOP projects Folkestone, UK

Supported by WE.ARE Institute, Performance space, Adelaide Bannerman and David Thorpe

Composition No.3

La Wayaka Current,  Atacama desert, Chile

Supported by WE.ARE Institute & Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia Buenos Aires

Composition No.4

Muzej suvremene umjetnosti Zagreb, Croatia

Organised by MSU, UGM Maribor Art Gallery, WE.ARE Institute

Composition No.5

Espronceda center for Art, Barcelona, Spain

Supported by WE.ARE Institute & Espronceda center for Art Barcelona

____________________

JAŠA (Mrevlje-Pollak; born 1978, Ljubljana) lives and works in New York and Ljubljana. One of Slovenia’s most prolific and critically recognised contemporary artists, JAŠA is driven by his rhapsodic interpretations of situation, narrative, sculpture and performance, transforming spaces into experiences, driving them toward their poetic and aesthetic potentials. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions and has been featured and participated in many international group shows. He represented Slovenia at the 56th Venice Biennial in 2015.