Siniša Labrović

Flock.org

reality show, 2005

photo courtesy of the artist

Flock.org (2005) is a multimedia art project parodying the reality show platform. From the human perspective sheep are non-individualized, they are representatives of a species, which is exactly what makes them suitable participants for the project. They can’t create an image or “introduce” themselves, yet I still hope one of them would become a star. The spectators bear the responsibility on two levels: first as voters, then as winners of the awarded sheep – the sheep was eliminated from the contest. There are two “if” phases to the project. If the spectator does not want the sheep he has been awarded, it will be slaughtered. This phase is conceived as fatal for the author and his smug alignment with the morally undisputed “right side.” The next “if” is as follows: if the animal rights activists or anyone else wants to save the sheep, they can buy it off by spending 24 hours with it in their home. The winning sheep will sign a contract ensuring it a lifetime of care.

Voyeurism, the desire for reality, identification with the common, the average and common presented as exceptional and worthy of public attention, anonymous masses deciding the fate of an individual, the simultaneity of competition and togetherness, the desire for individualization, fame and reward, anonymity as synonymous with non-existence, the constant exposure of participants not to the gaze of the spectator but to the camera, which annuls reality and leaves only a show as reality; the audience’s lack of awareness of the difference between an event and its representation in the media are some of the elements of reality shows that Flock.hr works to develop and show.

I honestly hope that the sheep are up to rivaling people in the creation of the magnificent boredom that is a reality show.

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Siniša Labrović was born in Sinj, Croatia, in 1965. His first solo exhibition was held in Otok Gallery in Dubrovnik in 2000. He has exhibited all over Croatia and abroad. In 2005 he attracted the attention of the world’s media (Reuters, BBC, Ansa, New York Post, The Guardian, The Times, NBC, ABC) with his work Flock.org, in which sheep played the role of contestants in a reality show. In 2007 he won the purchase prize at the first T-HT and the Museum of Contemporary Art competition in Zagreb for the video Family Diary/News. This work is in the permanent display of the MCA, while the video documentation of the action Bandaging the Wounded (2000) is in the permanent display of the Fine Arts Gallery in Split. Several works are in the collection of Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik. In 2009 he presented the work (book) Lisansustu Egitim/Postagraduate Education at the 11th Istanbul Biennial. In 2012 he represented Croatia at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale, entitled Common Ground, together with Pula Group, Hrvoslava Brkušić, Igor Bezinović and Boris Cvjetanović. Today Labrović is a freelance artist living in Zagreb.