СКЕНДЕРИЈА / SKENDERIJA
SORRY ABOUT THE LEGS
[ WORKSHOP ]
YUGOSTALGIA Marija Milosevic Oxford Brookes University 2017/18 VOL 1
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CONTENTS 6 8 10 18 20 26 28
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
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Workshop Brief Introduction Process Sorry About the Legs Installation Exhibition Post Installation
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WORKSHOP BRIEF / ОПИС РАДИОНИЦЕ
AGON From the Greek αγωνιστής (agōnistēs), contestant; champion; rival < αγων (agōn), contest, combat; exertion, struggle < αγω (agō), I lead, lead towards, conduct; drive Agonism (from Greek ἀγών agon, “struggle”) is a political theory that emphasizes the possibly positive aspects of certain (but not all) forms of political conflict. It accepts a permanent place for such conflict, but seeks to show how people might accept and channel this positively. For this reason, agonists are especially concerned with debates about democracy. The tradition is also referred to as agonistic pluralism.
BODY noun (plural bodies) 1 the physical structure, including the bones, flesh, and organs, of a person or an animal: it’s important to keep your body in good condition. no aim
wandering
Each team should consider themes on agonism, antagonism, protagonism, sport and spectacle. The teams should develop a communal collective project during this one day, based on field work, sites, and including mapping, documenting, etc.
Brief set out by the RIA Stockholm professor Peter Lang.
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APPROACH ПРИСТУП
The journey begins with aimless wandering. Setting out the journey with the theme of exploring the Olympic Games complex, alluding to figure skating. Using skateboarding to create abstract reference to ice skating. Wondering where to start from.
Exploration of spaces around Skenderija Complex. Finding ourselves in the basement of Ice Hall. Finding an entrance to Privredni Grad / Shopping Centre. Discovering the mannequin.
basement / trespassing?
exploring entrances
EUREKA mannequin
“borrowing” mannequin
parading mannequin
wandering
permanent installation
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INTRODUCTION / УВОД
There was no plan - after sitting down in the sun, contemplating the theme of the project, thinking hard and then not thinking at all, the group began wandering. The discovery of the mannequin occurred accidentally. It was an aimless path which led the group to the dark, vacant shops in the basement of Skenderija where we found ourselves among the discarded shop items.
Team: Marija Milosevic Marc Francis David Barnaby Newton Lucas Docherty Bo Pilo
The first instance of public interaction occurs as the mannequin is carried out of the basement. The doll changes our behaviour, from the aimless wanderer to the careful observer imitating an ordinary manual worker, carrying a disjointed bottom of the male mannequin. Instant thoughts - what are people thinking?
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PROCESS / WANDERING ПРОЦЕС ЛУТАЊА
We familiarised ourselves with the prop we will be carrying around with us for the rest of the day. We became comfortable with it, learned how to assemble and disassemble its parts. Ice Hall plateau becomes the departure point of the journey. We contemplate the public reaction to one holding a half mannequin. First person passes by, making us feel uncomfortable. His interests in the mannequin situation are evident. We leave Skenderija plateau, once again, embarking on a wandering walk, a journey with a sole aim of showing off our newly obtained prop.
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PROCESS / WANDERING ПРОЦЕС ЛУТАЊА
The group ventures out of the comfort zone of Skenderija and mannequin’s ‘origin’ place. Dubious looks and interested stares begin following us. Uncomfortable feelings begin to overwhelm but are quickly suppressed by the conscious decision to experience every emotion and every public stare. Since the sense of direction is shadowed by the excitement of carrying this ‘borrowed’ doll around the city, the first pedestrian crossing makes it do.
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PROCESS / WANDERING ПРОЦЕС ЛУТАЊА
On the road, we encountered a tights and socks shop, ‘Čarapko’ where it was only appropriate to stop and document the interaction. The shop keeper then joined us outside, seeming very entertained by the group’s artefact. In the meantime, passers by threw a few more curious glances at us. The journey then became a search for a place of belonging. Symbolically, for the mannequin. However, the tights shop did not seem an appropriate place for our doll. Its role and its state was questioned from the beginning - why is only half of this mannequin discarded behind some vacant shops, with a leg that does not even belong to him. We continued our journey with the aim of reaching a pub. Having been accustomed to them, the glances have become more common.
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PROCESS / WANDERING ПРОЦЕС ЛУТАЊА
The aim of this exercise was not merely provocation of the members of the public, it was also and experiment - how far we could go carrying an unusual prop around the city and inside the buildings and institutions ...before feeling uncomfortable ourselves. Therefore the journey meant pushing our own boundaries of comfort zone. Ironically, we were asked to leave the Art Academy where they were exhibiting abstract sculptures of human body parts and it was the only time we were asked to remove the doll from the building. The process became more explicit as we were getting ready to finish the day. In line with the intensity of the experiment, we got more curious passers by, not hiding their curiosity. However, we no longer seemed to be paying attention to their reactions. The sole focus was on getting the glances, curious views and ultimately showing off our mannequin.
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SORRY ABOUT THE LEGS ИЗВИНИТЕ ЗА НОГЕ
The phrase ‘Sorry about the Legs’ has appeared at the Art Academy when the group was asked to leave the exhibition. The apologetic phrase was in the back of the mind constantly. Firstly, the mannequin was taken out of the basement of the shopping centre in Skenderija without a permission since there was no one to ask. Coming out onto the street, the subconsciousness was apologising to the people giving curious glances. Verbal apologies were given to the guard at the Art Academy and finally, entering the most famous bar in Sarajevo we said: ‘Sorry about the Legs’. As the bar was eccentric in its own way, the doll stood out only slightly. Customers did give a few interested glances and some even enquired about the motive behind carrying around a pair of plastic legs.
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INSTALLATION ИНСТАЛАЦИЈА
One thing was certain, the ‘legs’ were the centre piece of the project. After much wandering, it was appropriate to put them back in their original place a few meters above their original place. The derelict shops were encountered at the beginning of the journey and the urban youth culture was evident in this part of Skenderija complex. The irony of this spot is the broken windows with no glass debris around and locked doors. They have been vandalised throughout time, stripped of their intended function. One of the goals of the installation was bringing the life back into the shops - at least one of the shops.
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LOCATION ЛОКАЦИЈА
The shop keeper of a shop near the installation spot was skeptical about our intervention, believing we are vandalising the little room even further. He expressed his concerns and after we assured him we are not damaging the already derelict shop, we continued cleaning it up.
Cleaning of the chosen installation spot / shop 21
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INSTALLATION ИНСТАЛАЦИЈА
exhibiting videos on phones - impromptu visuals
timeline of the journey
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exhibition photographs formatting
legs in water, upside down, simulating drowning man
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INSTALLATION ИНСТАЛАЦИЈА
The final installation featured a timeline of the journey represented through photographs, the artefact as the central piece and some domestic objects we managed to obtain from workers in the basement of Skenderija. During the cleanup and installation, the shop began gaining attention, especially from the passers who only once we left were peeking inside.
Top right: Interior of installation shop Below right: details of some domestic props used in the installation Below: Exterior of the ‘sealed’ shop before the exhibition was open.
The installation space was therefore transformed with the simple objects found in the same building / complex. The domestic objects such as bar stools and bucket allude to the ordinary man and his journey through Sarajevo through years, encountering various ‘discomforts’ and downsides before finally returning to his origins.
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EXHIBITION ИЗЛОЖБА
The audience becomes involved in the installation before knowing the final outcome and appearance. The procession with the disjointed doll began at the cinema Kriterion across the river from Skenderija. The audience then brought the doll to the art installation to complete it.
Top: The beginning of the procession, carrying the legs into their space (installation spot) from across the river. Below: Inside the space, during the exhibition.
The alley of the derelict shops is in fact a prominent route although its appearance does not reflect it. By creating an intervention in the urban fabric, we began transforming the space and interacting with it, hence encouraging further synergy. We have attempted to create a use for the shop, a piece which may create a series of interactions for the public passing by, besides the graffiti art. The piece therefore becomes a part of the street art, part of the environment rather than being secluded in a museum building. One has no need to go out of her way in order to encounter this installation.
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POST INSTALLATION ПОСЛЕ ИЗЛОЖБЕ
The installation was revisited two days after the set up. It was open to the public and the elements. The aim was to encourage spontaneous interaction in a derelict space - an invisible space to the public which suddenly was no longer invisible. Vandalism was one form of interaction. Although one may not understand the motive behind the act of vandalism, it does produce a creation of its own. A book of impressions was left at the site, in order to determine the duration of its possible presence, before it gets taken of destroyed.
Visit 1: 03/11/17 Some images were written on with a blue biro pen, the doll is still standing in the corner as we left it.
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POST INSTALLATION ПОСЛЕ ИЗЛОЖБЕ
Visit 2: 07/11/17 The doll has been dismantled but not taken from its space while the photographs have been ripped off the walls and the book of impressions has disappeared. Blue tape may have been left on the counter and a new ‘seal’ was taped across the shop window in the meantime.
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POST INSTALLATION ПОСЛЕ ИЗЛОЖБЕ
Visit 3: 20/03/18 A few months later the site has been dismantled and the doll has been removed from the derelict shop. The installation has been littered by the very elements which made up the exhibition. There are cans of spray paint discarded at the scene, alluding to additional graffiti art. However, a question remains, would there be any interaction with the scene if the installation was not existent in the first place.
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EPILOGUE ЕПИЛОГ
An aim emerged as the group began aimless wandering. We wished to explore the city, get familiar with it. Nevertheless, the city began acknowledging us, recognising us as a group of foreigners carrying around a pair of plastic legs. The journey has activated the city around with an unusual appearance, sparking the curiosity of the members of the public. The installation has transformed the derelict space and the graffiti raided alley. It also activated the passers by to have a peek inside - setting up an art installation on someone’s route makes the artwork visually prominent and hence noticeable. The culture of the city has been transformed by the war - the lack of funding and exhibitions which remind the citizens of the painful times have suppressed the museum culture. This installation has activated the community passing through, even if it is in form of vandalism - it is an interaction.
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Team: Marija Milosevic Marc Francis David Barnaby Newton Lucas Docherty Bo Pilo
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COMMENTS КОМЕНТАРИ
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Special thanks to Bahrudin Bandic, the shop keeper in the alley and the incredibly generous, friendly workers in Skenderija Privredni Grad and everyone who interacted with the installation.
MARIJA MILOSEVIC_16038484