I undertook a residence with Belgrade Artists In Residence. For this work I made a small performance exploring the recently published ‘Serbia’s Forgotten Children‘ report into the circumstances of disabled children in Serbian Institutions. Using the Mimu Gloves to blend video projected onto myself, I wrapped my limbs in bandages, evoking the use of bandages to restrain children in institutions.
Following this performance I then worked with three artists to explore the Mimu gloves in different ways.
Belgrade-born artist Gordana Žikić and I worked together to combine a mapping of Belgrade with the movement of the Mimu Gloves, attempting to bring to life a soundscape of her movements. This draws on her work around Shamanism and connecting with an unseen world.
Her current art practice involves examining traditions and innovations through performance and installations. I am drawing from the beliefs, traditions, and cultures of various peoples, and I attempt to re-contextualize traditional rituals, performances, and objects according to modern-day use and life. In my work, I focus heavily on collecting and recycling found objects and materials such as hair, fur, shells, copper wire, feathers, and beads. These items are then transformed into sacred objects using traditional and current artistic methods to reveal my perspective in regard to symbolism, spiritual mythology, and identity. Moreover, this transformation demonstrates how personal narratives intertwine, challenge, and mimic other international narratives.
Bosko Begovic is an MMA martial artist, conceptual artist, and writer. We worked together to explore making a sonic representation of the actions of various martial arts. In this video, Bosko is sensing where the sound is, and sparing with it as he would a partner.
Bosko is the co-founder of the non-profit organization Center424, Belgrade Artist in residence and Martial Artist in Residence in Belgrade, Serbia. He holds Aikido 4 Dan AikiKai Hombu Dojo / Judo 4 Dan / Tatami Ryu Aiki Jutsu 5 Dan. He has been writing since 1995, and in recent years he has started to write in English.
Olya Uzikaeva is the director of Movement Research Belgrade. Her specialism in Contemporary dance and improvisation meant that I was able to generate a soundscape for her to explore physically. She finds places of movement and stillness. We also experimented a little with video processing, which would pixelate her movement depending on the position of the gloves.
Her special interest is gaga – a movement language created by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin as a powerful tool for improvisation and movement exploration. She attended various workshops for professional dancers with world-renowned choreographers. In 2015-2018 she participated in performative and dance projects in Novosibirsk and Moscow.