Human/Nature

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Viktor Daldon, Slaven Tolj, Sandra Sterle, Ivan Šeremet, Denis Kraškovic, Ivana Franke, Luko Piplica, Alem Korkut.

• Trafo Gallery, Budapest 16 May - 11 June 2002
• Galerija Balen and Muzej brodskog Posavlja, Slavonski Brod, 17 September - 4 October 2002

Curated by Maja and Reuben Fowkes

The intriguing idea of Human/Nature is open to a number of interpretations. It includes the notion of a dichotomy between civilisation and the natural world and holds out the possibility of overcoming it. It also involves the tricky concept of 'human nature' that has divided philosophers for centuries between advocates of a harsh 'law of the jungle' and believers in the intrinsic goodness of the 'noble savage'. The debate between proponents of optimistic and pessimistic views of basic human character is further complicated by the post-modernist's belief that human nature is a self-referential linguistic construct and only meaningful within a specific cultural context. Nevertheless, we still feel a desire to delve the mysteries of human nature, and in this situation, art can take a role in divining and expressing the global unconscious.

Together with other Central European countries Croatia faces the challenge of how to protect the natural environment and preserve local cultural diversity. The works shown carry a distinctive sense of local belonging that can sometimes be found in specific geographical settings or at the level of collective experience in a contemporary Croatian context. The unmistakeable presence of a spiritual dimension can also be read in these works.

We are witnessing a growing tendency to seek out new forms of spirituality and a rediscovery of ethics in art. Reconstructive post-modernism regards interconnectedness, social responsibility and ecological attunement as the crucial issues for human creativity. It calls for a reenchantment of the human soul. Human/Nature is about an awareness of how fragile the balance of nature is, how precious local lifestyles are, and how much it all depends on us.

Viktor Daldon is a painter, who on this occasion is represented by a photographic series of contemporary saints. Each photograph frames a passer-by against the neon logo of a pharmaceutical firm, revealing a glowing aureola around their head. They are reminiscent of Renaissance saint paintings, but contemporary saints are just ordinary people crossing the main square of Zagreb. Through social and spatial intervention the artist encourages us to look for the holy in each other and ourselves.

Ivana Franke uses such materials as paraffin, paper, threads, and fishing line to create site-specific installations that convey a sense of the ephemeral. The transparency of the structures she builds allows the viewer to perceive their wholeness simultaneously. Her work is gentle, sensual and fragile, and evokes abstract dimensions of the human mind and the natural stillness of space.

Alem Korkut is a sculptor who explores natural forms and processes in his work. Momento Mori-me directly confronts the universal problem of death, the separation of the spirit and the body, and the myth of individual immortalisation in stone. A video recording preserves the gradual disintegration of the artist's clay self-portrait as it sits in a water-filled glass container. The final result of the process of dilution is an undistinguished mass of submerged mud. The work is a poetic meditation on the inevitability of physical decomposition. In this final stage, humans again become part of nature.

There is a convincing humanism and affirmative spirit to the work of the sculptor Denis Kraškovic. Lying in a hammock, gazing at repetitive landscapes, we're torn between meditation and apathy. Although Laziness Wins can be read as a criticism of human indifference towards nature, it can also be seen as an invitation to relax. The work suggests we should stop seeing life as a struggle and celebrate the true nature of existence.

The cyprus trees photographed by Luko Piplica have physical abnormalities caused by underground energy streams. We're made aware of the force of nature, invisible interconnections and the vunerablity of living forms. By marking the trees onto a map along subterranean energy lines the artist draws attention to invisible processes and forgotten places. The fictional biography that forms part of the work 'Maja Sofia' is a poetic evocation of the fate of these trees and isolation faced by the artist on his return to the war-torn region of Konavle.

Sandra Sterle's work deals with the rituals of daily life and explores places connected to childhood. She raises questions of social engagement and the enduring tug of our roots. In the video piece Round Around the artist is shown running around an olive tree dressed in folk costume borrowed from an old peasant woman on the island of Mljet. Running in a circle around the tree of wisdom, circles become cycles of a female nature.

Ivan Šeremet likes to point out uncomfortable truths. He succeeds with very reduced tools in expressing the frustrations of social realities. New Testament with a 100 kuna note is a reminder of a common side of human nature, of bribery, dishonesty and everyday hypocrisy. The work explicitly states that money is the new religion. It raises questions about the state of organised religion and comments on the superficial materialism of global capitalism.

The art of Slaven Tolj is often connected with his hometown of Dubrovnik. He employs the living environment, local conditions, objects and time present there as building material for his art projects. The video he presents here dramatises the end of a love affair through the act of peeling a potato. Through the intimate nature of his work, Slaven Tolj shamanistically performs the power of human emotions.