STARO SAJMIŠTE ▪︎ Marija Janković
Opening: Thursday, January 16, at 7 p.m.
This year’s artistic director, Aleksandar Kujučev, has chosen Marija Janković’s solo exhibition for the start of the Artget Gallery’s new exhibition season. Her approach to the 2008–2011 project “Staro sajmište” suggests what can be expected in the upcoming season.
Janković carefully constructed 31 frames for creating a terrifying and fearful film. The scenes in the movie are based on genuine experiences that took place eight decades ago and were recalled by those who were directly involved. The author used testimonials from survivors, murder victims, torturers, and executioners in the camp that she discovered in books and archives. She told these horrific stories from the largest execution site in Belgrade during World War II, using recycled dolls and other materials but brand-new figurines of the German soldiers. To help us remember that people experienced these acts of violence and suffered at the hands of others, Janković gave the victims a voice and a face.
The exhibition also warns us today: “Let us listen to these voices again, especially at a time of current revisionisms that seek to minimize or even completely erase the crimes committed by the Nazis.” (Philippe Bertinchamps, as quoted in the catalogue for the exhibition)
Marija Janković has been actively exhibiting her photographs since 2002, which have been published in Serbian and international newspapers, books, journals, portals, and agencies. She has received numerous awards and has had nine solo exhibits. Her work, which primarily addresses political, social, and historical issues, women’s rights, and current affairs in the Balkans, blends an artistic and documentary approach. She has worked as the photographic editor for the magazine “Vreme” since 2017. Under the UNDP’s sponsorship, she held lectures and a workshop on photography and depicting violence against women in the media.