From the Forest’s Depths

Milica Popović

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December 23, 2021 – January 15, 2022


The creative process of Milica Popović is based on the idea that the scene is not shaped through a rational, traditional approach, because in that way the artistic process is limited. The idea is to use the given scene as a trigger for an explosion of multiple meanings and interpretations. Milica does not emphasize the source of the scene, nor its end result, but the act itself, that she defines as the search for a new solution in the form of an image which has multiple meanings. During the search for an adequate relationship between the form and the content, Milica chooses one of countless possible combinations. Every act that happens during the long process of creation is recorded as a layer in the painting, which is why the depth, that is, the layering within the painting, is of a great significance. The form is open, and continues to open. It is no longer a form of a completed work, but of a creative act, in other words, it is a form as a process and not as a finished product. Therefore, the finished image can be viewed as a representation of the ultimate degree of liberation from the visible. The image should overcome the sensual and visual, and present the search for meta dimensions, that is to say, the search for the invisible and unmanifested.

The word drama in Greek etymologically derives from the verb to do, to act. Drama is what is done and performed on the canvas, which is turned towards the observer in order to invite him to get involved in the still unfinished process. The role of the observer is therefore not passive, as he is placed in a similar position to that of the artist. By observing a liberated representation that is not concrete, an individual should feel himself as part of the process of creating the image. Thus, the accent is not on the aesthetic consumption of the image, but on the active creative act. In this regard, an individual completes the work with his presence, but the painting still represents an event.

Photos: N. Ivanović