Jelena Fužinato
-b. 1984. Jelena studied at the Academy of Arts Banja Luka and completed her MA in Painting at the University of Arts Belgrade. She also studied Curating, Managing, and Mediating Art at Aalto University, Helsinki (CuMMA). She graduated from the University of Arts Postgraduate Master’s program at the Institute of Art in Context in 2015, where she focused on artistic work with social groups and in cultural institutions. She continued her education in 2016/18 at the KontextSchule, focusing on critical education and discrimination. Jelena has worked as a guest lecturer within various art and educational institutions. In 2021, she won the Kunst am Bau competition of the Zille-Haus in Berlin Mitte and was appointed director of KontextSchule in the same year. She was also awarded the nGbK outreach scholarship in 2022.
In my work, I nurture an open approach to art, actively involving the community in my artistic process. Through participatory and therapeutic workshops, I encourage people to share their stories and perspectives, creating dynamic platforms for self-expression.
My works often redifines conventional structures of labor, placing the voices and experiences of participants at the center of attention. I create a narrative texture that captures the interactions between space, art, and community, establishing connections between the individual and the collective. My artistic practice explores the transformation of spaces, social relationships, and emotions, while developing temporary groups and collaborating in a process-oriented manner.
The art I create can be understood as a byproduct of interaction, communication, rituals, networking, conversations, research, and negotiations. The focus is on exploring how laws, rules, and power shape social norms, influencing people’s behavior, knowledge, and skills. By blending existing references with fabricated information, I construct complex metaphorical narratives where reality and fiction intertwine. My works and methods often stand in contrast to centralized narratives, questioning the boundaries and positions of both people and objects.
What has happened can only be conveyed through participation in the process—through practice. While working I am guided byy the principle: if I don’t know—drawing takes place; if I know what—I share it with others; and if I know how—it turns into action.
The core of my artistic practice lies in embracing uncertainty, understandig the diversity as a norm. This allows me the freedom to explore any theme and use any method, format, or technique. My diverse education at different universities supports and informs this flexibility. I nurture classical drawing formats and studio work. Additionally, I work with groups in an educational and therapeutic capacity, or as an advisor in cultural institutions. However, whether dealing with objects or processes, they serve more as byproducts of communication than as standalone artworks and can never fully represent the entire process or what truly happened.
If I had to describe my work in one word, it would be negotiation. I see art as a space where continuous negotiation of change is possible. This is most evident in my series “The Builder’s Daughter”1 and in my work “The Archive of Teodor Vujić.”2
“The Archive of Teodor Vujić” is a multimedia project aimed at reconstructing the identity and history of a family member, who, according to family legend, was a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. His story ends with his disappearance, and the legend states that he was buried somewhere in the Alps, most likely in the Tyrol region.
The multi-layered nature of this project is characteristic of my artistic approach. It begins with the deconstruction of family narratives, challenging traditional storytelling that positions the family as a victim dependent on state institutions. The entire process—from questioning the truth of this family legend to discovering Teodor’s grave in Pécs, Hungary—is presented as an installation that constantly shifts form, appearing at times as a multimedia installation, at times as a lecture-performance, and at times as a framed document—an application for Teodor’s posthumous Austrian and Hungarian citizenship.34
A central goal of this auto-research project is to legally claim posthumous citizenship for Teodor. By applying far-right logic, I argue that the highest form of belonging to a nation is dying for it. The archive aims to shed light on historical heritage, while also exploring the political and historical context of Teodor’s time and its relevance to the modern status of European citizenship.
Similarly, I investigate my own position after migrating to Berlin, through the series “The Builder’s Daughter.” In the performance “Incoming”, held at Hamburger Bahnhof – National Gallery of Contemporary Art5, visitors were invited to rethink the seemingly ordinary process of scaffolding installation as a form of labor intertwined with gender, class, and power dynamics.6
I demanded that the institution erect scaffolding on the museum’s façade and then entered the exhibition space through a window. Through a series of negotiations, which I documented, the institution and I reached a compromise, resulting in a performative intervention.7
This project shifts focus to the experiences of Yugoslav migrant workers, many of whom were employed as (illegal) construction laborers in Germany. Drawing on my family’s history—marked by a series of both legal and illegal, temporary and permanent Gastarbeiter (guest workers) in Germany and Austria—I explore the privileges and challenges of life in migration and diaspora.89
By installing scaffolding on Berlin’s most prominent art institutions, I frame the entire process as an artistic work composed of multiple elements, such as performance, installation, lecture, storytelling. This work is shaped through negotiations, making the final result not just an artistic choice but a mediated solution—a balance between how I envisioned approaching the institution and how high they allowed me to climb.10
In both “The Archive of Teodor Vujić” and “The Builder’s Daughter”, I prioritize process and documentation, aiming to reveal thought processes, actions, the passage of time, and transformation. This multilayered, multimedia approach insists on complexity and refuses to simplify ideas for easier artistic consumption.
In my work, objects flow from one installation to another—I borrow elements from past works, erase old images, and add new ones. This continuous reshaping keeps my practice alive—an ongoing and never truly finished process.11
The text was written in consultancy with Adna Muslija (2024).
1The Builders Daughter, galerie weiser elefant, foto Yero Adugna Eticha, 2022
2Archive OF Teodor Vujić, installation details, 2016
3Archive OF Teodor Vujić, installation details, 2016
4The Day We Found Teodor, 2023
5The performance is part of the “Zoom Out” performance series conceived by Emily Finkelstein, Assistant Curator, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and Catalina Heroven, Research Associate, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, as part of the project “Weitwinkel” with participation of fellow artist Adrijana Gvozdenović and Neda Kovinić.
6“Incoming”, performance at Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, photo Marcelina Wellmer
7“Incoming”, performance at Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, photo Julia Merkel
8“Incoming”, performance at Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, photo Julia Merkel
9 “Incoming”, Installation detail “20 Goog Words” (printed barrier tape) during the performance at Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, photo Julia Merkel
10“Incoming”, performance at Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, photo Julia Merkel, 2024
11“Incoming” installation detail “bite, eat or swallow”,recycled scaffolding part important from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2024, photo Julia Merkel
– r. 1984. Jelena je studirala na Akademiji umjetnosti u Banjoj Luci, a master studije iz slikarstva završila je na Univerzitetu umjetnosti u Beogradu. Također je studirala kustoske prakse, menadžment i posredovanje u umjetnosti na Aalto univerzitetu u Helsinkiju (CuMMA). Godine 2015. završila je postdiplomski master program na Institutu za umjetnost u kontekstu pri Univerzitetu umjetnosti, gdje se fokusirala na umjetnički rad sa društvenim grupama i u kulturnim institucijama. Dalje se usavršavala u periodu 2016–2018. na KontextSchule, gdje se bavila kritičkim obrazovanjem i pitanjima diskriminacije. Jelena je gostujuća predavačica na različitim umjetničkim i obrazovnim institucijama. Godine 2021. pobijedila je na konkursu Kunst am Bau za Zille-Haus u Berlinu (Mitte) i iste godine imenovana je direktoricom KontextSchule. Također je 2022. godine dobila nGbK stipendiju za angažman u zajednici.
U svom radu njegujem otvoren pristup umjetnosti i aktivno uključujem zajednicu u svoj umjetnički proces. Kroz participativne i terapeutske radionice potičem ljude da dijele svoje priče i perspektive, stvarajući dinamične platforme za samoizražavanje.
Moja djela često redefinišu konvencionalne strukture rada, stavljajući glasove i iskustva sudionika u središte pažnje. Stvaram narativnu teksturu koja obuhvaća interakcije između prostora, umjetnosti i zajednice, uspostavljajući veze između individualnog i kolektivnog. Moji umjetnički radovi istražuju transformaciju prostora, socijalnih odnosa i emocija, dok razvijam privremene grupe i surađujem na procesualan način.
Umjetnost koju stvaram može se shvatiti kao nusproizvod interakcije, komunikacije, rituala, stvaranja mreža, razgovora, istraživanja i pregovora. Zanima me kako zakoni, pravila i moć oblikuju društvene norme te utječu na ponašanje, znanje i vještine ljudi. Miješanjem postojećih referenci s fabriciranim informacijama stvaram složene metaforičke narative u kojima se stvarnost i fikcija prepliću. Moji radovi i metode često su u suprotnosti s centralnim narativima te ispituju granice i pozicije ljudi i objekata.
Za mene je to što se desilo i ne može nikako drugačije da se prenese osim učešćem u procesu – praksa. I u njoj se vodim principom: ako ne znam – desi se crtež, ako znam šta – podijelim to sa drugima, a ako znam kako – onda se pretvori u akciju.
Srž moje umjetničke prakse leži u prihvatanju nesigurnosti, u shvatanju varijabiliteta kao norme, što mi omogućava slobodu da istražujem bilo koju temu i primjenim bilo koju metodu, format ili tehniku. Moje raznovrsno obrazovanje na različitim univerzitetima podržava i informiše ovu fleksibilnost. Njegujem klasične formate crteža i rad u ateljeu. Pored toga radim sa grupama edukativno i terapijski ili kao savjetnica u kulturnim institucijama. Međutim, bilo da su u pitanju objekti ili procesi, oni služe u mojoj praksi više kao nusprodukti komunikacije nego kao umjetnost za sebe i nikada ne mogu da pokažu cjelokupan proces i šta se stvarno desilo.
Ako bih morala koristiti jednu riječ u opisu svog rada, to bi bilo pregovaranje (negotiation). Jer smatram da je umjetnost mjesto gdje je moguće dozvoliti da se promjena pregovara non-stop. Najočiglednije je to izraženo u seriji iteracija The Builder’s Daughter1 i u radu Arhiv Teodora Vujića.2
Arhiv Todora Vujića je multimedijski projekat koji nastoji rekonstruisati identitet i istoriju člana porodice koji je, prema porodičnoj legendi, bio vojnik u Austro-Ugarskoj vojsci tokom Prvog svjetskog rata. Njegova priča se završava nestankom i legendom da je sahranjen negdje u Alpama, najverovatnije u oblasti Tirol.
Višeslojnost i predstave različitih stadijuma ovog rada karakteristične su za moj opus. Karakteristično je to da počinjem dekonstruisanjem porodične priče i odstupanjem od tradicije disciplinovanja narativom koji pozicionira cijelu porodicu u položaj žrtvene zavisnosti i uslovljenosti državnim aparatima. Cijeli proces, od postavljanja teze o lažnom porodičnom narativu do pronalaženja Teodorovog groba u Pečuju (Mađarska), prikazujem kao instalaciju koja konstantno mijenja svoj oblik, te biva prikazana čas kao multimedijalna instalacija, čas kao lecture performance, čas kao uramljen dokument – aplikacija za posthumno austrijsko i mađarsko državljanstvo Teodora Vujića.34
Središnji cilj ovog umjetničkog auto-istraživanja je pravno zahtijevati posthumno državljanstvo za Teodora, s obzirom na to da tvrdim (služeći se logikom duboke desnice) da je najviši izraz pripadnosti zemlji – umrijeti za nju. Arhiv ima za cilj da osvijetli nasljeđe, dok istražuje politički i istorijski kontekst vremena u kojem je Todor živio i njegovu relevantnost za savremenu poziciju evropskih državljana.
Na sličan i slojevit način bavim se sopstvenom pozicijom nakon migracije u Berlin, u seriji radova The Builder’s Daughter. U performansu Incoming, izvedenom u Hamburger Bahnhofu – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart5, posjetioci su pozvani da preispitaju naizgled običan proces postavljanja skela kao oblik rada isprepleten sa pitanjima roda, klase i pozicija moći.6
Zahtijevam od institucija da postave skelu na fasadu muzeja i penjem se u njegove prostorije kroz prozor. Kroz niz dugih pregovora, koje dokumentujem, institucija i ja pronalazimo međurješenje, a kompromis biva postavljen u vidu performativne intervencije.7
Preusmjeravam fokus na iskustva radnika jugoslovenskog porijekla koji su zaposleni kao (ilegalni) radnici na Baušteli. Oslanjajući se na sopstvenu porodičnu istoriju, koja bilježi seriju ilegalnih ili legalno zaposlenih, epizodnih ili dugoročnih (permanentnih) Gastarbeitera u Njemačkoj i Austriji, istražujem privilegiju i izazove života u migraciji i dijaspori.89
Postavljanjem skele na najistaknutije institucije umjetnosti u Berlinu tretiram cijeli proces kao umjetnički rad sa više elemenata: performans, instalaciju, predavanje i pripovijedanje. Ovaj rad oblikujem pregovorima, čineći ishod ne samo umjetničkim izborom već rješenjem između dva pola – onoga kako sam zamislila da pristupim instituciji i onoga koliko visoko mi je institucija dozvolila da se popnem.10
U oba rada težim procesualnom i dokumentacijskom pristupu, kojem je cilj prikazati proces mišljenja, postupaka i protoka vremena, kao i proces promjene. Ova višeslojnost i multimedijalnost insistiraju na kompleksnosti i odbijaju sužavanje ideje zarad lakše konzumacije umjetničkog rada.
U mom radu objekti se prelijevaju iz jedne instalacije u drugu – posuđujem elemente iz prošlih radova, brišem stare i dodajem nove slike. Ovakav pristup čini moju praksu živom i gotovo nikada završenim procesom.11
Tekst je napisan u konsultaciji sa Adnom Muslija (2024).
1The Builders Daughter, galerie weiser elefant, foto: Yero Adugna Eticha, 2022
2Arhiv Teodora Vujića, detalji instalacije, 2016
3Arhiv Teodora Vujića, detalji instalacije, 2016
4Kako smo našli Teodora, 2023
5Performans je dio serije performansa „Zoom Out“, koju su osmislile Emily Finkelstein, asistentica kustosice u Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, i Catalina Heroven, istraživačka saradnica u Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, u sklopu projekta „Weitwinkel“, uz učešće umjetnica Adrijane Gvozdenović i Nede Kovinić.
6“Incoming”, performans, Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, foto: Marcelina Wellmer
7“Incoming”, performans, Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, foto: Julia Merkel
8“Incoming”, performans, Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, foto: Julia Merkel
9 “Incoming”, detalji instalacije “20 Goog Words” (print na traci za ograđivanje) za vrijeme performansa u Hamburger Bahnhofu – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, foto: Julia Merkel
10“Incoming”, pperformans, Hamburger Bahnhof –Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 2024, foto: Julia Merk 2024
11“Incoming”, detalj instalacije „bite, eat or swallow“, reciklirani dio skele uvezen iz Bosne i Hercegovine, 2024, foto: Julia Merkel
