Sanja Latinović
Sanja Latinović (b. 1983) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, specializing in sculpture, and completed her master’s studies in performance art at HKB Bern in Switzerland. Although a sculptor by vocation, her work primarily focuses on performance, video, and photo documentation, through which she examines the medium of sculpture itself, exploring its transformative potentials in the relations between material – space – form – idea. Her thematic concerns are predominantly directed toward addressing the complex position of the individual today and daily confrontations with various forms of societal determinations, imperatives, and pressures. She has received multiple awards, including the Politika Award for the Best Exhibition in 2022, and her work is part of collections in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, the Art Gallery Nadežda Petrović in Čačak, the Museum of Smederevo, and others.
Performance. That had to be my choice. It is the space where I confront myself first and foremost, and then the environment, which in many situations sought to limit me and reduce me to an ‘acceptable measure.’ The acceptable measure implied that I have no voice of my own, that I respect all norms imposed by society, and that I be good for everyone except myself.
I grew up in a small town in a traditional family, and at the time, it wasn’t ‘in’ to be gay, nor was it talked about publicly, only in whispers and in confidence. The position of gay people in Serbia, a deeply patriarchal country where the church plays a significant role, is still not good.
I first spoke with my mother about my sexuality when I was 12 years old, and I remember that we both took a sedative afterward. She took it because she felt devastated and ashamed by the revelation, and I took it because she felt ashamed and devastated instead of being proud of me. One of my earliest works, directly reflecting on this sense of rejection and not belonging, is Deflection (2009), in which the audience throws eggs at me and marks me with markers as I try to dodge the ‘shots. 1
Art became my way out. It was a field without limitations where everything was allowed. I always loved sculpture, but in my case, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to say, ‘This is my sculpture.’ It was necessary to stand before the audience and say, ‘This is me.’
However, I couldn’t entirely overcome the feeling of marginalization through art because art itself is marginalized in Serbia. In my opinion, it continues to exist almost solely thanks to the undeniable perseverance and enthusiasm of artists. Their position represents another crucial topic for me, which I’ve addressed several times. I’d like to highlight two such works here.
The first is a documentary film titled That Was It 2 (2018) 2. The film was created four years after I graduated in sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade and portrays my classmates. I filmed each of them while they were performing various jobs they held at the time – from a tennis coach, a pharmacy worker, to a paint shop employee, among others. These seven unique stories offer not only insights into the thoughts of these individuals but also a broader picture of the position of artists in the country where they live and work.
The second work, created in 2023 during an art residency on Vlasina Lake, is titled Half of My Meal is an Artwork 3. The residency provided only basic living conditions and required two works from each artist in return. My decision to spend ten days eating only half of my meals and documenting it daily was my response to this demand. I felt I had nothing more to offer them than this symbolic ‘giving’ – half of my meal. This work was not only a critique of that specific residency but also shed light on the ongoing practice where artists are almost always asked to give more than they receive in return.
One recurring element in many of my works is the material I frequently use: glass. Glass has always fascinated me with its remarkable transformative power. In some of my previous works, it served various functions. In its quiet unobtrusiveness, glass divided spaces and created protection (Aquarium, 2008) 4 in its fragility, it transformed into a weapon (Do Not Cross, 2012) 5 while through the forced use of its primary characteristic – transparency – by increasing the number of layers, it became completely opaque (Revolution is Us, 2019) 6
For me, glass is primarily a symbol of the invisible barriers society imposes on us in various ways. As an artist, my goal is not only to recognize and name these barriers but also to overcome them through my works and daily life.
1
See:https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/deflection/
2
See: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/that-was-it/
3
See: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/pola-moga-obroka-je-umetnicki-rad/
4
See: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/aqu/
5
See: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/do-not-cross/
6
See:https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/can-you-feel-change/
Sanja Latinović (1983) je završila Fakultet likovnih umetnosti u Beogradu, odsek vajarstvo, i master studije performansa na HKB Bern u Švajcarskoj. Iako po vokaciji vajarka, njen rad je prvenstveno fokusiran na performans, video i foto dokumentaciju kroz koje proispituje i sam medij skulpture, istražujući njegove transformativne potencijale u relacijama materija – prostor – forma – ideja. Tematske preokupacije najpre su usmerene na problematizovanje kompleksne pozicije funkcionisanja individue danas, kao i na svakodnevna suočavanja sa različitim oblicima društvenih determinacija, imperativa i pritisaka. Dobitnica je više priznanja među kojima je i Politikina nagrada za najbolju izložbu u 2022, a njen rad se nalazi u kolekciji Muzeja savremene umetnosti u Beogradu, Umetničke galerije Nadežda Petrović iz Čačka, Muzeja Smederava i drugim.
Performans. To je morao biti moj izbor. To je mesto mog suočavanja prvenstveno sa samom sobom, a onda i s okruženjem koje je, u mnogim situacijama, htelo da me ograniči i svede na ’prihvatljivu meru’. Prihvatljiva mera podrazumevala je da nemam svoj glas, da poštujem sve norme nametnute od strane društva i da budem dobra svima, samo ne sebi.
Odrasla sam u malom gradu u jednoj tradicionalnoj porodici, i u to vreme nije bilo ‘in’ biti gay, niti se o tome pričalo javno, već samo kroz šapat i u poverenju. Položaj gay ljudi u Srbiji, kao jednoj duboko patrijarhalnoj zemlji, gde crkva ima veliku ulogu, ni dan-danas nije dovoljno dobar.
Prvi put sam sa mamom pričala o svojoj seksualnosti sa 12 godina, i sećam se da smo obe popile lek za smirenje. Ona jer je bila poražena i osramoćena tim saznanjem, a ja zato što je ona bila osramoćena i poražena time, a ne ponosna mnome. Jedan od mojih prvih radova nastao upravo na ovu temu, tačnije reflektujući osećaj neprihvaćenosti i nepripadanja, je Deflection (2009) u kojem me publika gađa jajima i obeležava markerima moje pokušaje da izbegnem ‘hice‘ 1. Umetnost je bila moj izlaz. To je bilo polje u kojem nije bilo ograničenja i sve je bilo dozvoljeno. Uvek sam volela skulpturu, ali ona u mom slučaju nije bila dovoljna. Nije bilo dovoljno reći ‘ovo je moja skulptura‘, bilo je neophodno stati pred publiku i reći ‘ovo sam ja’.
Međutim, taj osećaj marginalizovanosti nisam uspela kroz umetnost u potpunosti da prevaziđem pošto je umetnost u Srbiji i sama marginalizovana. Ona, po mom mišljenju, i dalje opstaje gotovo isključivo zahvaljujući nepobitnoj istrajnosti i entuzijazmu umetnika i umetnica. Njihov položaj predstavlja još jednu temu od izuzetnog značaja za mene, kojom sam se bavila u nekoliko navrata. Ovom prilikom izdvojila bih dva takva rada.
Prvi je dokumentarni film pod nazivom That Was It 2 2 koji sam snimila 2018. godine. Film je snimljen četiri godine nakon završetka studija vajarstva na Likovnoj akademiji u Beogradu i predstavlja portrete kolega sa kojima sam bila u klasi. Svakog od njih snimila sam dok su obavljali različite poslove koje su tada radili – od teniskog trenera, radnice u apoteci, do radnika u farbari, i drugih. Ovih sedam jedinstvenih priča ne nude samo uvid u razmišljanja tih ljudi, već i u širu sliku položaja umetnika i umetnica u zemlji u kojoj žive i rade.
Drugi rad koji je nastao 2023. na koloniji koja se održava na Vlasini, nazvala sam Pola moga obroka je umetnički rad 3. Na toj koloniji obezbeđeni su samo osnovni uslovi za boravak, a za uzvrat su tražili po dva rada od svakog umetnika. Odluka da deset dana provedenih tamo jedem samo polovinu svog obroka i to svakodnevno dokumentujem, bila je moj način da odgovorim na taj zahtev. Smatrala sam da nemam ništa više da im ponudim osim tog simboličnog ‘davanja‘ – polovine svog obroka. Ovaj rad nije bio samo kritika konkretne kolonije, već osvetljava kontinuiranu praksu shodno kojoj se od umetnika gotovo uvek traži više nego što im se zauzvrat nudi.
Ono što bih želela da izdvojim, a što se ponavlja u mnogim mojim radovima, jeste materijal koji često koristim, a to je staklo. Staklo me je oduvek fasciniralo zbog svoje izuzetne transformativne moći. U nekim od mojih prethodnih radova ono je imalo različite funkcije. U svojoj tihoj nenametljivosti, staklo je delilo prostor i stvaralo zaštitu (Akvarijum, 2008)4; u svojoj krhkosti, pretvaralo se u oružje (Do Not Cross, 2012) 5; dok je, forsiranjem njegove glavne osobine – transparentnosti, kroz uvećanje broja slojeva, postajalo potpuno netransparentno (Revolution is Us, 2019 6.
Za mene, staklo je prvenstveno simbol nevidljivih prepreka koje društvo na razne načine postavlja pred nas. Kao umetnica, moj cilj nije samo da te prepreke prepoznam i imenujem, već i da ih, kroz svoje radove i svakodnevni život, prevazilazim.
1
Pogleaj:https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/deflection/
2
Pogledaj: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/that-was-it/
3
Pogledaj: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/pola-moga-obroka-je-umetnicki-rad/
4
Pogledaj: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/aqu/
5
Pogledaj: https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/do-not-cross/
6
Pogledaj:https://www.sanjalatinovic.com/portfolio/can-you-feel-change/
