Jasmina Cibic​

1979, Ljubljana, lives in London, UK

Show the Land in Which a Wide Space for National Progress is Ensured, 2015

wallpaper, gold paint, performance; dimensions variable

Performed by: Lada Petrovski, Nataša Živković

Courtesy of the artist

Jasmina Cibic’s Show the Land in Which a Wide Space for National Progress is Ensured is a performative installation, which alludes to the soft power strategies of art and architecture utilised by (trans)national political structures. It further delves into the relation between the authority that assigns their representative, nation-building moment and the artist that illustrates it. In the middle of the room sits a geometric seating arrangement – a sculptural form that the artist has drawn from the architectural plans for the redesign of the city of Belgrade, which was to host the first Conference of the Non-Aligned in 1961. Shifting between theatrical props and exhibition furniture, these sculptures are provided for spectators to rest upon and gaze at the fictitious landscape that covers the entirety of the walls. This black-and-white depiction of a landscape is composed from numerous photographs drawn from the archives of Josip Broz Tito’s personal photographers. From these archives Cibic collected only those images depicting the picturesque and sublime landscapes that surrounded Tito's protocol visits – the scenography of the various protocol events scattered around the globe that were to shape the geopolitics of the post-WWII era. Within this composite landscape, Cibic displays quotes from various political speeches on nation building from recent history. These statements are illustrated as enlarged banners deposited atop trees and mountains throughout imagined landscapes. At the opening of the exhibition a special performance will take place in which two performers will be gilding this series of positive affirmations as the final act of Cibic's installation.