Portrait 01 B.M. is a portrait of the prisoner B.M. serving a long sentence for murdering a man who had, several years earlier, donated his kidney to B.M.’s daughter. Alongside its primary, medical function, this transplantation has in a way made possible the forming of some sort of a rectangular family relationship, which in this case ended in tragedy. Portrait 01 B.M. is part of a series of portraits called Lorem ipsum portraits, which has been developed in search...read more
Portrait 01 B.M. is a portrait of the prisoner B.M. serving a long sentence for murdering a man who had, several years earlier, donated his kidney to B.M.’s daughter. Alongside its primary, medical function, this transplantation has in a way made possible the forming of some sort of a rectangular family relationship, which in this case ended in tragedy. Portrait 01 B.M. is part of a series of portraits called Lorem ipsum portraits, which has been developed in search of persons whose destinies have been changed through some sort of bio-medical intervention, motivated by various medical reasons, but at the same time in a completely new and not entirely symbolic manner forming interpersonal relationships and significantly altering the roles of parents, romantic or life partners, etc. as we know them. It is an installation consisting of two parts – photographs of the person portrayed, made as a morphing of a number of video snapshots, and a short video document about the recording of such portraits, which also provides basic information about the people portrayed.
Commentary by Miško Šuvaković:
The viewer of this video is confronted with both open and vague questions about the reasons for such an exhibit. Actually, about the possible subtexts or fetishizations or fascinations, or political/ethical decisions in the choice of recording modes and about the relation to complex biopolitics of modern society, medical policy, life circumstances, judicial policy, prison policy, bioethical issues of giving and taking life. But all these questions have not been asked by the work of art – they need not even be uttered, not even meant in connection with the work. What the artist does is suggestively facing the viewers with a great number of unknowns which must be resolved if they are to engage in play with the artwork, which is an openly stated promise of “a dark spot in humanity”. Whereby it is not a question of a request for understanding of artistic work. It is more likely a situation the viewer has been pushed into and in which he or she can react based on their beliefs, moral attitudes, prejudices, ethical choices, empathizing with the victims of disease, murder, or imprisonment. The artist operates a policy of positioning the viewer in relation to the minimum and non-transparent information and the "transcendental/singular horror" which perhaps, or more precisely very likely, is behind them.
camera: Nenad Glišić, Dragan Jovanović
editing: Aleksandra Vasiljević
