Page 94 - Ekonomija i Biznis_oktomvri 2016.indd

CULTURE

BETWEEN – EXHIBITION OF IGOR TOSHEVSKI IN CIFTE HAMMAM

You occupied Cifte Hammam with a very coura- notice that the audience is somehow more mature
geous, completely iconoclastic gesture – “you and more awake than before, which honestly makes
packed” 50 originals of the collection of NGM in the me happy. Actually, same as in my previous works,
function of your installation. What idea guided you here the audience has the central position. What
this time? makes me particularly pleased is the correspondence
of the work in regard to the space itself. The archi-
This is the riskiest venture that I have undertaken so tecture of Cifte Hammam is a challenge for such
far because it is a more radical attempt to displace staging.
the limits of the very way art is perceived. This was
done by using 50 original works from the collection from the exhibition by Igor Toshevski
of the National Gallery of Macedonia in a form of a
spatial installation whereby I use the works as ready-
made objects in combination with applications and
text. It is quite an extensive effort dedicated to brush-
ing through the archives of the gallery, handling the
works and the very installation.
Basically it is a matter of a proposal for a new reading
of the ideological context which is implied in the mu-
seum-gallery system in general. However, although
one could say that it is a matter of a type of insti-
tutional criticism, the work is a lot more than this
because it refers to our specific social-political condi-
tions, as well as our relationship with the historical
heritage that our collective identity is built on.

Although your exhibitions are well known for their
strong concept, once again you surprised the art
audience with an original staging and engaged en-
ergy. What are your impressions from the opening?

It was better than I expected. Maybe I’m exaggerat- the premises of Chifte Hammam under the intervention of
ing, however at every new exhibition I have, I fear Igor Toshevski
that the audience will remain indifferent or that they
will start to throw eggs at me. Probably this arises
from the desire for the work to touch the real goal.
Judging according to the initial reactions, I have no
reasons to complain. There is something else here: I

GALLERY the iconic Marina Abramovikj
OSTEN with Osten’s award

The gallery this season presented some interesting
projects one of which is the solo exhibition of Elpida
Hadzi Vasileva Innate beauty 3, as well as a series of
photographs by Alexandros Stamamatiou from Greece.
The photographs are made in the Benaki Museum in
Athens, during the awarding of the award Grand Prix
for lifetime achievement of the Biennial of drawings of
Osten, Skopje 2014, by the iconic and still avant-garde
Marina Abramovikj.

94 October 2016