ArtReview sent a questionnaire to artists and curators exhibiting in and curating the various national pavilions of the 2024 Venice Biennale, the responses to which will be published daily in the leadup to and during the Venice Biennale, which runs from 20 April – 24 November.
Darja Bajagić is representing Montenegro. The pavilion is located at Complesso dell’Ospedaletto, Barbaria de le Tole, 6691.
ArtReview What do you think of when you think of Venice?
Darja Bajagić: The Biennale and the canals.
AR What can you tell us about your exhibition plans for Venice?
DB My exhibition, titled It Takes an Island to Feel This Good, curated by Ana Simona Zelenović and organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art, presents a critical consideration of the culture of collective memory and our relationship to shared historical heritage. I reflect upon these topics through painting and sculpture, focusing on the complex and multidimensional history of the Montenegrin island of Mamula. Its fort, built in 1853 by the Austro-Hungarian general Lazar Mamula, was converted into a concentration camp by the fascist forces of Benito Mussolini’s Kingdom of Italy during the Second World War; and was revitalised with the assistance of foreign investments as a luxury hotel beginning in 2016.
The title, It Takes an Island to Feel This Good, was, in fact, lifted from the hotel’s website – it is their slogan.
AR Why is the Venice Biennale still important, if at all? And what is the importance of showing there? Is it about visibility, inclusion, acknowledgement?
DB Yes, absolutely – and it holds significant importance for artists from ‘underrepresented’ countries such as Montenegro, which tend to operate on a more regional scale. Participation in the biennale offers unparalleled exposure and international visibility. As such, it represents an invaluable opportunity to transcend geographical boundaries and contribute to conversations within the ‘global’ art community.
AR When you make artworks do you have a specific audience in mind?
DB Yes, I do.
AR Do you think there is such a thing as national art? Or is all art universal? Is there something that defines your nation’s artistic traditions? And what is misunderstood or forgotten about your nation’s art history?
DB It depends. I am not one to be categorical. However, I do think there are artworks that exist on a spectrum between these two perspectives – national and universal. For example, there exist artworks that are deeply rooted in the cultural or historical contexts, or both, of a specific nation or region, but, nevertheless, retain qualities that resonate with a broader, ‘universal’ audience, therefore transcending [national] boundaries and speaking to shared human experiences. Ultimately, how this is perceived depends on a multitude of factors, including the intentions of the artist, the context in which the artwork is created and exhibited and the interpretations of its audience.
AR If someone were to visit your nation, what three things would you recommend they see or read in order to understand it better?
DB I would recommend watching the film The Beauty of Vice (Ljepota Poroka) (1986) by Montenegrin director Živko Nikolić (1941–2001). It is a comedy that, broadly speaking, describes the tension(s) between traditionalism and modernity. In this famed film, as in others, Nikolić points to the pervasive primitivism of the Montenegrin people while simultaneously highlighting their noble and righteous character, as they grapple with the incoming ‘monsters’ of contemporary society – corruption, self-interest and vice. Though, today, Nikolić is celebrated for his poignant, satirical depictions of the culture and people of Montenegro (including those in power), during his lifetime, he was often threatened and ostracised for his confronting and daring portrayals.
Another recommendation would be to visit the Spomeniks (“monuments”) of Yugoslavia, commissioned by Josip Broz Tito to commemorate the sites of Second World War battles and Nazi concentration camps, referring to the resistance and fight for independence of Tito’s multiethnic National Liberation Army. Despite the dissolution of Yugoslavia, these colossal concrete structures endure as symbols of remembrance and reflection – reminding future generations of the importance of preserving history and upholding the ideals of freedom and justice.
Lastly, stop by the Mausoleum of Njegoš – interring Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (1813–1851) – located on the top of Mount Lovćen’s second-highest peak, Jezerski Vrh (1657m). Njegoš, as he is commonly referred to, was a Prince-Bishop of Montenegro, philosopher and poet – one of the most acclaimed South Slavic poets of his time. In the decades following his death, Njegoš’s Gorski vijenac (The Mountain Wreath) (1847), a modern epic written in verse as a play, became Montenegro’s national epic. It expresses man’s struggle for dignity, freedom and justice in life’s never-ending battles – between good and evil; order and chaos; virtue and vice. The mausoleum, a secular structure designed by Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, was constructed in 1971 and inaugurated in 1974. 461 steps lead to the entry, where two granite caryatids, clothed in traditional Montenegrin costume, guard the tomb of Njegoš. Inside, under a gold-coloured mosaic canopy, consisting of 200,000 tiles, a 28-ton statue of the former ruler, carved from a single block of black granite, rests in the wings of an eagle.
AR Which other artists have influenced or inspired you?
DB I don’t have role models, but there are artists whose work I admire and respect. One of them is Boris Lurie (1924–2008), an American Holocaust survivor turned artist, writer and cofounder of NO!art, an independent, antiestablishment, avant-garde art movement, commenced in 1959 in New York. As such, throughout his career, Lurie sought to reinforce the existence of an uncorrupted art in the face of [an] oppressive sterility. Steadfastly determined in his efforts to bridge art and real life, he was unapologetic in his representations of reality. As Lurie bluntly put it, ‘The price for collaboration in art is – as in the concentration camps – excremental suffocation. It is not by submission, coolness, apathy, boredom that great art is created – no matter what the cynics tell us. The secret ingredient is what is most difficult to learn – courage.’
AR What, other than your own work, are you looking forward to seeing while you are in Venice?
DB I am particularly looking forward to seeing an exhibition of Lurie’s work presented by the Boris Lurie Art Foundation in collaboration with the Center for Persecuted Art, titled Life With The Dead; and a lot of colleagues and friends, and their projects.
