Renata Poljak - Yet Another Departure by Nikola Krizanac

msub — mocab

Renata Poljak — Još jedan odlazak // Yet Another Departure

msub — mocab

Renata Poljak — Još jedan odlazak // Yet Another Departure

Alaina Claire and Renata Poljak PARTENZA AND YET ANOTHER DEPARTURE

Renata Poljak značajna je hrvatska umetnica srednje generacije koja se najčešće izražava kroz medij videa, filma, fotografije i instalacije. Renatini radovi u velikoj meri referišu kako na lokalne tako i globalne političke, ekonomske i socijalne fenomene. U Salonu Muzeja savremene umetnosti, Renata Poljak se predstavila sa dva video rada, Partenza iz 2016. godine i Još jedan odlazak (Yet Another Departure) iz 2018. godine. Još jedan odlazak je trokanalna video instalacija koja je ovom prilikom premijerno bila izvedena. Kako Poljak često upotrebljava dokumentarne i arhivske materijale za koncipiranje i tematsku produkciju svojih radova, kao i pojedine pojave koje nastoji da izoluje i tranformiše u kompleksne i intrigantne motive, tako se ova dva rada formalno i simbolički bave pojmom ostrva koji umetnica nastoji da preispita kroz razumevanje ontološke pozicije mesta u odnosu na ostatak sveta.

Renata Poljak is a prominent Croatian mid-generation artist working mostly in the media of video, film, photography and installation. Poljak’s work refers to both local and global political, economic and social phenomena. At the Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Renata Poljak presents two video works, Partenza (2016) and Yet Another Departure (2018). Yet Another Departure is a three-channel video installation that is premiere on this occasion. Since Poljak often uses documentary and archival materials for production of her works, and also particular phenomena she tries to isolate and transform into complex and intriguing motifs, these two videos are formally and symbolically concerned with the notion of island that the artist aims to examine through understanding of the ontological position of a site in relation to the rest of the world.

Pored svog fizičkog i istorijskog postojanja, ostrva su bila i nastavljaju da budu metafore i simbolički izvori za razumevanje sopstvenog ontološkog mesta u odnosu na ostatak sveta.

Beyond their physical and historical existence, islands have been and continue to be metaphors and symbolic resources for understanding one’s ontological place in relation to the rest of the world.

Kako bi to Eduar Glisan rekao, ostrva su na više načina elipse ili nepotpune ideje koje predstavljaju nešto drugo a ne

As Édouard Glissant might suggest, islands are in many ways ellipses or incomplete ideas representing something else 1

Alaina Claire i Renata Poljak PARTENZA I JOŠ JEDAN ODLAZAK

normativne realnosti koje se sukobljavaju sa našim ustaljenim predstavama o značenju. Ova izložbena celina koja se sastoji od rada Partenza (film iz 2016/17) i rad Još jedan odlazak (trokanalna video-instalacija, 2018) snimljena je na hrvatskim ostrvima. U sastavu Hrvatske nalazi se 1 200 ostrva, što je značajna stvar kada se ova zemlja posmatra kroz prizmu svoje istorije i tesne povezanosti sa vodosistemima, svoje mornarice i turističke industrije, kao i skorašnjih privrednih i društveno-političkih okolnosti. Rad Partenza snimljen je na ostrvu Brač, a rad Još jedan odlazak na ostrvu Brioni gde je, od 1947. do 1980. godine, bila smeštena zvanična letnja rezidencija maršala Tita, nedostupna za javnost, ali koju su posećivali najistaknutiji svetski državnici tog vremena. Iz ovog razdoblja sačuvana je prirodnjačka zbirka od 200 prepariranih životinja koje su Titu poklonili zvanični gosti iz čitavog sveta. Kroz radove Partenza i Još jedan odlazak krećemo se prateći istu glumicu ali ne na istom horizontu, pri čemu je u oba rada more prikazano kao prostor i predmet od političkog i emotivnog značaja.

Rad Partenza (italijanska reč za odlazak, koja se koristi u mnogim hrvatskim ostrvima i primorskim dijalektima) nadahnut je savremenim migrantskim tragedijama na moru. Koristeći migrantske i izbegličke priče koje se ponavljaju kroz istoriju, Partenza ukazuje na položaj čoveka kao stvorenja krhkog i podložnog političkim, ekonomskim i socijalnim promenama. Partenza upućuje na godine sa početka XX veka

other than normative realities that compete against our fixed ideas of meaning. This exhibition proposal composed of Partenza (film 2016/17) and Yet Another Departure (3-channel video installation, 2018) was shot on two Croatian islands. Croatia is composed of over 1,200 islands, which is significant when observing the country through the lens of its history and its proximity to water systems, its navy and tourist industry and recent economical and sociopolitical situations. Partenza was shot on island Brač and Yet Another Departure on the island Brijuni that was Marshall Tito’s official summer residence from 1947 to 1980, kept inaccessible to the public but visited by the most prominent world statesmen of the time. Remains from this period a natural history collection comprising two hundred stuffed animals that were donated to Tito by former official guests from all over the world. Between Partenza to Yet Another Departure we flow with the same actress but not with the same horizon, both works profile the sea as a space and subject of political and emotional significance. Partenza (Italian for departure, and used in many of Croatia’s island and coastal dialects) is inspired by the contemporary tragedies of migrants at sea. Using migrant and refugee stories which repeat throughout history, Partenza points to the human condition as fragile and susceptible to political, economic and social changes. Partenza refers to the early

kada je „Tierra del Fuego“ zlatna groznica privlačila hiljade Hrvata na argentinske i čileanske obale, dok rad Još jedan odlazak referiše na nešto što se desilo 100 godina kasnije, kada je 2016. godine brod „Vis“ – vodeće i najznačajnije plovilo jugoslovenske mornarice – namerno potopljen kako bi poslužio kao ronilačka atrakcija na hrvatskoj obali.

1900s when the Tierra del Fuego gold rush attracted thousands of Croatians to the Argentinian and Chilean coasts, while Yet Another Departure refers to one hundred years later, to 2016 when boat Vis the flagship and by it the most important boat of Jugoslav Navy, was sunk on purpose in order to become a scuba diving attraction on the Croatian coast.

Težina istorije očigledna je u oba rada. U radu Partenza, kamera se fokusira na sitne aspekte čekanja u društvu osoba koje odslikavaju posledice traume izazivajući empatiju prema onome što je unutar i izvan okvira prikazivanja. Politika čekanja ključni je aspekt rada Partenza s obzirom na to da postoji direktna rodna neravnoteža između onih koji su imali priliku da odu i onih koji su morali da ostanu. Premda je današnja situacija naizgled drugačija (u Još jedan odlazak), konstelacija meke moći ostaje neizmenjena.

The weight of history is evident in both of the works. In Partenza, the camera focuses on minutiae aspects of waiting with characters that register the aftermath of trauma eliciting empathy for what lies in and out of the frame. The politics of waiting are a key aspect of Partenza as there is direct gender imbalance between those who had the opportunity to leave and those who had to stay behind. While today’s situation is seemingly different (in Yet Another Departure), the soft power constellation stays the same.

Preispitujući istorijsku i poslovičnu udaljenost mora, radovi se ne zasnivaju na u potpunosti fiksiranom narativu već se, pre, odvijaju u promenljivoj priči u kojoj je pažnja posvećena oblikovanju prostora gde ima mesta za razmišljanje. Sama lokacija takođe postaje predmet bavljenja.

Reexamining the historic and superficial remoteness of the sea, the pieces do not rely on a completely fixed narrative but rather unfold in shifting story that pays close attention to the articulation of space with room for contemplation.The location itself equally becomes subject matter. Partenza is a story of exclusion told through aesthetic employment of abstractions and absence. Yet Another Departure follows the same line of thought with some different premises. 3

Partenza je priča o izopštenosti ispripovedana kroz estetsko korišćenje apstrakcija i odsustva. Još jedan odlazak sledi istu liniju mišljenja sa donekle drugačijim premisama.

Fotografije produkcije filma Partenza // Film Partenza production stills fotografija // photography: Dinka RadoniÄ&#x2021;

↑ Partenza → Još jedan odlazak // Yet Another Departure izgled postavke // installation view fotografija // photography: Bojana Janjić

JoĹĄ jedan odlazak // Yet Another Departure izgled postavke // installation view fotografija // photography: Bojana JanjiÄ&#x2021;

Renata Poljak je diplomirala u Splitu a postdiplomske studije završila je na Likovnoj akademiji École Régionale des Beaux-Arts u Nantesu, Francuska. Radovi Renate Poljak izlagani su u sklopu mnogobrojnih samostalnih i međunarodnih izložbi, filmskih festivala i bijenala. Poljak je dobitnica brojnih nagrada, među kojima 2006. godine nagrada za najbolji kratki film na berlinskom festivalu Balkan Black Box Festival ili 2012. godine druga nagrada T-HT natečaja u MSU.

Poljak je 2002. bila gostujući umetnik u San Francisco Art Institute. Rezidencijalni umjetnik u Art In General, New York 2008. Umetnica je takodjer bila rezidencijalni umetnik u Cité des Arts i Recollets u Parizu. 2010. retrospektiva njenih filmskih radova prikazana je u programu Prospectif Cinéma

u Centre Georges Pompidou u Parizu, te 2012. godine u Palais de Tokyo u Parizu. Njenu samostalnu izložbu 2013. godine u New Yorku, Uncertain Memories, časopis The Village Voice izdvaja kao jednu od tri najbolje izložbe tog meseca. Selekcija njenih radova prikazuje se paraleno u dva Art Centra (Optica i Occurence) u Montrealu 2014. Od recentnih grupnih izložbi, Poljak je učestvovala u Prophetia u Fundazio Joan Miro u Barceloni te Stories from the Edge u Kunsthaus Graz. 2016. svoj novonastali projekt Partenza samostalno izlaže u dva muzeja Hrvatskoj, u galeriji Context u Parizu te u muzeju Danubiana u Bratislavi. Verlag für moderne Kunst iz Beča je 2017. objavio njenu prvu umetničku knjigu pod naslovom Don’t Turn Your Back On Me. Renata Poljak je ušla u finale nagrade za umetnike MAC International 2018. godine.

In 2002 she was a visiting artist at San Francisco Art Institute, and in 2008 she has been selected for Art In General residency program in New York. She was also a resident in Cité des Arts and in Recollets in Paris. In 2010 Poljak had a retrospective of her films in the program of Prospective Cinema (Prospectif Cinéma)

at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris and in October 2012 at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris. In 2013 her solo show ‘Uncertain Memories’ in NYC was selected as the show of the month by Village Voice. A retrospective of her work was featured in 2014 in Montreal, Canada, shaped as the two parallel solo exhibitions in the art centers Occurence and Optica. Recent group shows include exhibitions such as Prophetia at the Fundazio Joan Miro in Barcelona and Stories from the Edge at the Kunsthaus Graz. In 2016 she had two major museum shows in Croatia, Paris and in Danubiana Art Museum in Bratislava, featuring her newest project Partenza. In 2017 her artist book entitled Don’t Turn Your Back On Me was published by Verlag für moderne Kunst GmbH, Vienna. 2018 she had been selected in short list MAC International. 15

Renata Poljak graduated at the School of Fine Arts in Split and got her MFA at the École Régionale des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, France. Her works have been shown at numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions, biennials and film festivals. She received many awards, like Golden Black Box for the best short film at Berlin Black Box Festival held in Babylon Cinema in 2006, or the T-HT award — one of the most important contemporary art awards in Croatia, in 2012.

RENATA POLJAK Još jedan odlazak / Yet Another Departure

Izdavač // Publisher: Muzej savremene umetnosti • Beograd // Museum of Contemporary Art • Belgrade Za izdavača // On behalf of the publisher: Slobodan Nakarada • v. d. direktora // acting director Kustos Salona MSUB // MoCAB Salon Curator: Una Popović Urednik // Editor: Una Popović Fotografije // Photos: Goran Legović (Još jedan odlazak / Yet Another Departure) • Dinka Radonić (Partenza) • Bojana Janjić (MSUB/MoCAB) Dizajn // Design: Andrej Dolinka Štampa // Printed by: Alta Nova • Beograd // Belgrade Tiraž // Print Run: 150

ISBN 978-86-7101-354-3

CIP – Каталогизација у публикацији Народна библиотека Србије, Београд 7.071.1:929 Пољак Р.(083.824) 7.038.53:791(497.5)”20”(083.824) ПОЉАК, Рената, 1974– Renata Poljak : još jedan odlazak = yet another departure : [Muzej savremene umetnosti, Beograd, 06/07 – 20/08/2018] / [fotografije, photos Goran Legović, Dinka Radonić, Bojana Janjić]. – Beograd : Muzej savremene umetnosti = Museum of Contemporary Art, 2018 (Beograd : Alta Nova). – 16 str. : fotogr. ; 21 cm Uporedo srp. tekst i engl. prevod. – Tiraž 150. – Renata Poljak: str. 14. ISBN 978-86-7101-354-3 a) Пољак, Рената (1974–) – Изложбени каталози COBISS.SR-ID 271325452

Fotografija iz rada JoĹĄ jedan odlazak // Photography from the work Yet Another Departure fotografija // photography: Goran LegoviÄ&#x2021;

Muzej savremene umetnosti — Beograd // Museum of Contemporary Art — Belgrade — Salon MSUB // MoCAB Salon — Renata Poljak Još jedan odlazak // Yet Another Departure — 06/07 – 20/08/2018