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During the second half of
November, "Beograd" gallery
will proudly present an exhibition by Dejan Kaludjerovic, an
up-and-coming young artist quickly gaining the status of one of the most extraordinary
artists of his generation. Openly engaged, he has no qualms about
expressing incisive political and social critique in his works, which is
rather rare these days. He has exhibited in Belgrade,
Bucharest, Berlin,
Munich,
St.Etienne, etc. He lives on the relation Belgrade
- Vienna.
Works exhibited in "Beograd"
gallery are part of his cycle "The Future Belong To Us".
"These work cycles present my perennial project. The last work
of this cycle "Bite a carrot, Bunny! - No fear from small
animals" also has children as the main thing. Children, which we
have all been at some point, represent a picture of the society and
system we live in, meaning the world at a whole."
In order to avoid clichés I try to treat the problems I deal with
in different paintings in a variety of ways. Political, cultural, ethical
and aesthetic issues, however they are formed and presented in the adult
world, project their influences onto the world of children too. Questions
bearing on the exploitation of children for the needs of commerce or
political campaigns are extremely important questions that inevitably
affect the world of children, which is no longer so safe and carefree.
The right to grow up is greatly conditioned and accelerated by events
which are part and parcel of the present time and which project onto all
members (both old and young) of our modern society. For me the ever
important concept of the present qualified by the past, which itself also
has an effect on the future, is frequently illustrated through the world
of the "small people" who, through no fault of their own, are
forced to grow up fast and become "big people". But at what
cost and with what results."
Your works always contain a biting social comment that is almost
political.
What is your starting point?
It's true that my paintings also incorporate a form of social comment.
Starting from myself, I think that the artist must always be committed,
in the sense of taking an active part in life and reality of which he is
a part. Issues relating to man's problems and his responsibility towards
himself and others are present in all my works. My "politics"
are a principle that I show in life and through my art. The position of
the artist gives him the freedom to see things from unusual angles. The
question I often ask myself - Is everything that is offered to us as the
only reality actually true? We live in an age where we are bombarded with
information from all sides. Does that saturation with facts make it hard
for us to see many things and try to solve them? What is important for me
is that the works I create always communicate from the position of the
present (in all its aspects), and the past and the future. In reply to
the questions I ask myself I attempt to come up with a new answer because
the time in which we live, let's say, the present moment, will become the
past in the twinkling of an eye. It is essential that we don't forget it
or yield to it, for it is mostly in analysing this moment that we lay
down the conditions for our attitude towards the reality of which we are
already a part or the reality that awaits us…
Do you see yourself as a cynic, as a critic of society?
I have never thought of myself as a person who directly comes under the
influence of this or that system or artist. Very early on in life I
developed the principle of not fitting into a mould or getting into
clichés. As time went on and I resisted the models imposed by society, it
was inevitable that I developed a certain cynicism, irony and sarcasm.
Various writers, musicians, and directors whose work I like always carry
within them a dose of cynicism, irony and sarcasm. Of course, reality is
not always pleasant, from whatever angle we observe it, but this is no
justification for not getting involved in it. Cynicism, irony and sarcasm
are not always simply means to fence ourselves off. Sometimes these ways
of looking at reality almost impose themselves as a method of
observation. It is not only important to observe, but also to see.
What can you tell us about your work at the October Salon?
The Europoly installation, with ambiental sound, was the result of a
dialogue with the umbrella theme of this year's 45th October Salon.
Conceptually based on the world-famous game of Monopoly, this work
conceived a new spectrum of rules and obstacles which each
"player" has to master: the "squares" on the playing
board were represented by photographs of real people.
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