Temple
One who can read the book of nature has no need of holy scriptures.
After a series of artistic interventions in public spaces, Hram marks the fourth solo exhibition by Jelena Medić, in which the intimacy of the nude human body is returned to a protected space, not out of the need to conceal anything, but from a place where the urge to prove the strength of vulnerability is no longer necessary. As part of her exhibition practice, Medić retains an element of improvisation; instead of a conventional gallery hall, she chooses to transform an attic space, intensifying the sense of intimacy into which the viewer is invited to reflect on questions of body and spirit, spirituality and religiosity, freedom and morality.
In a strong dialogue with nature as an original deity and with the body as the primal temple of the soul, the exhibition presents 11 works created in collaboration with model Milica Gavrilović and artist Gjorgi Mitrevski. Together, they explore how an immediate body, free from imposed structures, enables encounters that transcend mental and verbal constructs, opening space for intimate reflection on the presence of the divine within everyday experience.
An integral part of the exhibition is a video work documenting the recently submerged 13th-century Valjevo Gračanica monastery, flooded as a result of hydroelectric power plant construction. The work further directs the viewer’s attention to deviations in value systems that separate human beings from their own divine nature; the footage was provided by members of the Borac Diving Club from Čačak, with music composed by Nenad Vasilić.
JELENA MEDIĆ 