Jelisaveta Rapaić

Jelisaveta Rapaić (1997)  is an artist, independent curator, researcher and educator from Belgrade (Serbia), based in Bratislava (Slovakia). She holds a bachelor of textile design from the Faculty of Applied Arts, in Belgrade (2019) and a Master’s in Intermedia from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (2021), currently she is a candidate for a PhD in Art Theory at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava with a research topic Feminist interpretations in contemporary textile and fiber art. Until 2024 she worked as a public program curator and PR for Kunsthalle Bratislava.

Within my research, I explore the  conflicting and inspiring background of the textile medium, how it has evolved and propose how it can be deployed today. Through textile installations, space interventions and performative experiences I examine the characteristics of ‘high-pressure contemporary culture anxieties’, such as wellness, wage making, mental health and womanhood. In this process, I am interested in the mechanisms by which we individually and collectively cope with current pressing issues, and the ways in which different systems of care are established and function or fail. I often wonder can the practice of creating art in the textile medium ever be fully emancipated and considered a feminist and a liberating practice, or does its current interpretation inherently build upon and depend on traditional gender roles and labor division we interpret it through? How can the medium be deployed as a tool for building narratives of equality and can it find its liberating purpose in nonwestern learnings and histories? Seems funny to be putting these words on paper, but textiles and I have a complicated relationship and it is as of recently that I have started examining it both theoretically and practically and eased into the sweet spot of discomfort.

For one of my latest exhibitions (i develop calluses i produce vanity, Obrat, Maribor, 2024) 1 was produced during an artist residency Guest Rooms in Maribor, a city with rich textile industry history where i reflected on the not so clean present and past of industrial fabric and garment making in relation to the art form that has somehow remained in the domain of women, queer and certain indigenous communities. Within the same framework of research in an earlier exhibition (i will build a wall only to hide u inside, Ravnikar, Ljubljana, 2024) 2 i presented a series of soft walls with hidden elements that store protective power, secrets, supplements and shames accompanied with a diary like sound installation addressing the sturdiness of walls in comparison to soft forms, placement of textile art in a feminist discourse, soft control and violent care.

I asked myself selfishly ‘’if the world were to end tomorrow what would be my unfulfilled wish’’ – it was to be a hairdresser. WeAreOpen, a pop-up hair salon in which I offer hair cutting therapy sessions in exchange for other non-monetary goods and services was born out of that dormitory room on March 15th 2020 as all hair salons were forced to close their doors. It was secretly marketed through instagram, making myself and my space available, playing a perverse game of learning a skill, trusting, bravery, therapy, value, and touch-when touch was sparse. To this day the project is somewhat ongoing, I stopped offering my personal space, and the salon has been popping up in exhibiting spaces. (Salon Jelisaveta; True hell comes from within, PAF Gallery in Olomouc, CZ, 2023). 3 The negotiation tactics and awkwardness around the topic of ‘’payment’’ varied, i have preferred using the economic model for collaborations, i give you a hair cutting therapy session- You do my color grading type of thing, but often I would just need someone to run an errand instead of me. Supply and demand I guess. This marks a period where examining the possibility of constructing safe spaces and the existence of the false care system we are told are in place, became a prominent topic of my interest.

More often than not my art seeks interactions, physical ones as well, (Human dog beds, 2023) 4 is a series of three figural soft sculptures, that force the spectator to contorse into a fetal position which is often linked to most intimate moments such as pillow talk or immobilising doom scroll depression. This is also why I often host workshops as an excuse to exchange other knowledge, talk, or learn from one another, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but thread will stitch my soul 5 is a workshop I found myself offering in various settings and spaces. (public program of Darker Lighter, Puffy, Flat, Kunsthalle Wien, 2024). My curatorial practice serves as a placemaking tool for allowing interactions to happen which might not happen otherwise, hence why I am very fond of curating group shows. The rotten smell is you, was my first institutional undertaking, it firstly manifested in Kunsthalle Bratislava (2023) 6 and later on in a mutated version in Cultural Center of Belgrade in (2024) The exhibition zoomed in on the the often neglected rift and generational gap within the feminist movement between 3rd and 4th wave feminists and gives space for varios interpretations and intersections of topics such as transness, sex work and hyperfemininity, topics on which the feminist movement fails to stand united, failing its own offspring.

1
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Image: I will build a wall only to hide u inside, Ravnikar, Ljubljana, 2024 photo by zupanov
See:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1-I-will-build-a-wall-only-to-hide-u-inside-Ravnikar-Ljubljana-2024-photo-by-zupanov-scaled.jpg


2
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Image: I develop calluses, I produce vanity, Obrat, Maribor, 2024 photo by Gregor Salobir
See:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2-I-develop-calluses-I-produce-vanity-Obrat-Maribor-2024-photo-by-Gregor-Salobir--scaled.jpg


3
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Image: Salon Jelisaveta_ True hell comes from within, PAF, Olomo
See:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/3-Salon-Jelisaveta_-True-hell-comes-from-within-PAF-Olomouc-2023-photo-by-Tomas-Jakubec.png


4
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Image: Organ Vida, Its okay to cry, UGM, Maribor, 2023 phot by Janez Klenovsek
See:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4-Organ-Vida-Its-okay-to-cry-UGM-Maribor-2023-phot-by-Janez-Klenovsek-scaled.jpg


5
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Image:Embroidery workshop for the public program of Darker, Lighter, Puffy, Flat, Kunsthalle Wien, 2024 personal archive
See:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/5-Embroidery-workshop-for-the-public-program-of-Darker-Lighter-Puffy-Flat-Kunsthalle-Wien-2024-personal-archive.jpg


6
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Image: the rotten smell is you, Kunsthalle Bratislava, 2023, photo by Adam Sakovy
See:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/6-the-rotten-smell-is-you-Kunsthalle-Bratislava-2023-photo-by-Adam-Sakovy-.jpg

 
Jelisaveta Rapaić (1997) je umetnica, samostalni kustos, istraživač i edukator iz Beograda
(Srbija), sa sedištem u Bratislavi (Slovačka). Diplomirala je dizajn tekstila na Fakultetu
primenjenih umetnosti u Beogradu (2019) i magistrirala na odeljenju za Intermedije na
Akademiji likovnih umetnosti i dizajna u Bratislavi (2021). Trenutno je kandidat za doktorske
studije iz teorije umetnosti na Akademiji likovnih umetnosti i dizajna u Bratislavi sa temom
Feminističke interpretacije u savremenoj tekstilnoj i tapiserijskoj umetnosti. Do 2024. godine,
radila je kao kustos javnog programa i PR za Kunsthalle Bratislava.

U okviru svog proučavanja, istražujem složenu i inspirativnu pozadinu tekstilnog medija, proces njegove evolucije i nudim rešenja u savremenoj primeni. Kroz tekstilne instalacije, prostorne intervencije i performativna iskustva ispitujem karakteristike „anksioznosti savremene kulture pod visokim pritiskom”, poput dobrobiti, zarade, mentalnog zdravlja i ženskosti. U ovom procesu, zanimaju me mehanizmi pomoću kojih se pojedinačno i kolektivno nosimo sa aktuelnim važnim pitanjima i načini na koji se različiti sistemi zaštite uspostavljaju i funkcionišu ili propadaju. Često se pitam da li se praksa stvaranja umetnosti u tekstilnom mediju ikada u potpunosti emancipuje i smatra feminističkom i oslobađajućom praksom, i se njeno sadašnje tumačenje inherentno nadograđuje i zavisi od tradicionalnih rodnih uloga i podele rada? Kako se medij može primeniti kao oruđe za izgradnju narativa o jednakosti i može li pronaći svoju oslobađajuću svrhu u nezapadnjačkim učenjima i istorijama? Čini se smešnim stavljati ove reči na papir, ali tekstil i ja imamo komplikovan odnos i odnedavno sam počela da ga preispitujem i teoretski i praktično i polagano ušla u slatko stanje nelagodnosti.

Za jednu od mojih poslednjih izložbi (i develop calluses i produce vanity, Obrat, Maribor, 2024) 1 nastalu tokom umetničke rezidencije GuestRoomsMaribor, u gradu sa bogatom istorijom tekstilne industrije gde sam razmišljala o ne tako čistoj sadašnjosti i prošlosti industrijske izrade tkanina i odevnih predmeta u odnosu na umetničku formu koja je na neki način ostala u domenu žena, kvira i pojedinih autohtonih zajednica. U istom okviru istraživanja na ranijoj izložbi (i will build a wall only to hide u inside, Ravnikar, Ljubljana, 2024) 2 predstavila sam seriju mekih zidova sa skrivenim elementima koji čuvaju odbrambenu moć, tajne, suplemente i sramote praćene svojevrsnim dnevnikom zvučne instalacije koja se bavi čvrstinom zidova u poređenju sa mekim formama, smeštanjem tekstilne umetnosti u feministički diskurs, mekom kontrolom i nasilnom brigom.

Sebično sam se zapitala „ako sutra dođe kraj sveta šta bi bila moja neostvarena želja“ – to je bilo da budem frizerka. WeAreOpen, pop-up frizerski salon u kojem nudim terapeutske sesije šišanja u zamenu za druga nenovčana dobra i usluge, nastao je iz sobe u studentskom domu 15. marta 2020. kada su svi frizerski saloni bili primorani da zatvore svoja vrata. Tajno sam ga reklamirala preko instagrama, stavljajući sebe i svoj prostor na raspolaganje, igrajući perverznu igru učenja veštine, poverenja, hrabrosti, terapije, vrednosti i dodira – kada je dodir bio redak. Do danas je projekat donekle u toku, prestala sam da nudim svoj lični prostor, a salon se pojavio u izložbenim prostorima. (Salon Jelisaveta; True hell comes from within, PAF Gallery in Olomouc, CZ, 2023). 3. Taktike pregovaranja i nespretnosti oko teme „plaćanja“ su varirale, ja sam više volela da koristim ekonomski model saradnje: Ja vama pružim terapijsku sesiju šišanja – vi za moj video uradite korekciju boje, ali često bi bilo dovoljno da se obavi neki zadatak umesto mene. Ponuda i potražnja, pretpostavljam. Ovo označava period u kojem je ispitivanje mogućnosti izgradnje sigurnih prostora i postojanja sistema lažne nege za koji se kaže da postoji, postala istaknuta tema mog interesovanja.

Moja umetnost često traži interakcije, takođe i fizičke. Human dog beds, 2023 4 je serija od tri figuralne meke skulpture, koje teraju gledaoca da se zgrči u fetalnu poziciju koja je često
povezana sa najintimnijim trenucima kao što je npr. razgovor na jastuku ili imobilizirajuća
depresija skrolovanja. To je razlog što često vodim radionice, kao izgovor da razmenjujemo
znanja, razgovaramo ili učimo jedni od drugih. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but
thread will stitch my soul 1 je radionica koju sam pokrenula u raznim okruženjima i prostorima
(javni program Darker Lighter, Puffy, Flat, Kunsthalle Beč, 2024) 5 . Moja kustoska praksa služi kao oruđe za kreiranje mesta za omogućavanje interakcija koje se inače ne bi desile, zbog čega volim da kuriram grupne izložbe. The rotten smell is you, bio je moj prvi institucionalni
poduhvat, najpre se manifestovao u Kunsthalle Bratislava (2023) 6, a kasnije, u mutiranoj verziji, u Kulturnom centru Beograda (2024). Izložba se fokusirala na često zanemareni rascep i
generacijski jaz unutar feminističkog pokreta između feministkinja 3. i 4. talasa i daje prostor za
različite interpretacije i ukrštanja teme kao što su transrodnost, seksualni rad i
hiperženstvenost, teme oko kojih feministički pokret ne uspeva da se ujedini, izneverivši i svoje
potomstvo.

1
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Slika: I will build a wall only to hide u inside, Ravnikar, Ljubljana, 2024 photo by zupanov
Pogledaj:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1-I-will-build-a-wall-only-to-hide-u-inside-Ravnikar-Ljubljana-2024-photo-by-zupanov-scaled.jpg


2
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Slika: I develop calluses, I produce vanity, Obrat, Maribor, 2024 photo by Gregor Salobir
Pogledaj:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2-I-develop-calluses-I-produce-vanity-Obrat-Maribor-2024-photo-by-Gregor-Salobir--scaled.jpg


3
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Slika: Salon Jelisaveta_ True hell comes from within, PAF, Olomo
Pogledaj:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/3-Salon-Jelisaveta_-True-hell-comes-from-within-PAF-Olomouc-2023-photo-by-Tomas-Jakubec.png


4
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Slika: Organ Vida, Its okay to cry, UGM, Maribor, 2023 phot by Janez Klenovsek
Pogledaj:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4-Organ-Vida-Its-okay-to-cry-UGM-Maribor-2023-phot-by-Janez-Klenovsek-scaled.jpg


5
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Slika:Embroidery workshop for the public program of Darker, Lighter, Puffy, Flat, Kunsthalle Wien, 2024 personal archive
Pogledaj:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/5-Embroidery-workshop-for-the-public-program-of-Darker-Lighter-Puffy-Flat-Kunsthalle-Wien-2024-personal-archive.jpg


6
Jelisaveta Rapaić, Slika: the rotten smell is you, Kunsthalle Bratislava, 2023, photo by Adam Sakovy
Pogledaj:
https://secondaryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/6-the-rotten-smell-is-you-Kunsthalle-Bratislava-2023-photo-by-Adam-Sakovy-.jpg