Jelena Jureša | Artists in Residence | Kamov Residency

Photo: Bea Borgers

• Biography
• The Project
• Organized by

• Jelena Jureša

  Jelena Jureša is a visual artist and filmmaker. She has extensively explored questions of cultural identity, gender, the politics of memory, and oblivion through film, video installation, photography, and text. Her work connects individual stories to collective processes of oblivion and remembrance, challenging historical and political narratives while destabilizing our perceptions of truth. In recent years, her research has focused on practices of oppression and their implications in systems of violence, resulting in multidisciplinary artistic trajectory that blend the political with the highly personal.  Jureša teaches at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent where she works on her post-doctoral project ‘Revolt! On a Refusal to Sing—Thinking Resistance Through Music, Waste, and Complicity.’

• 02.-10.03.2025.

  As part of preparations for her upcoming solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMSU), scheduled for November 2025, Jelena Jureša is returning to Rijeka for a residency at Kamov. 

  The MMSU will host a solo exhibition by Jelena Jureša, a visual artist, lecturer, and researcher based in Belgium. Jureša’s art practice addresses issues of identity, the politics of memory and oblivion, the relationship between the observer and the observed, and the representational power(lessness) of images. She primarily works in the mediums of film and video installation. The exhibition will showcase her recent works, including video, video installations, and experimental audiovisual practices, featuring 3 to 4 audiovisual pieces, some of which will be presented for the first time in Croatia.

  The plan is to use the time spent in residency to prepare for the exhibition, primarily focusing on the installation and spatial arrangements for multimedia film/video installations, as well as collaborating on accompanying discursive programs.

  In addition to preparing for the exhibition, the final version of the installation/film Don’t Take It Personally is being completed. This new work by Jelena Jureša, which will have its Croatian premiere at the exhibition in Rijeka, reflects on subtle changes in individual and group behavior during periods of social upheaval. The work explores a spectrum of human responses, from the banality of evil to complicity, all through the lens of human indifference. Using a longue durée approach, Jureša explores social cleavages by linking the present moment to historically and culturally significant movements like the Northern European Renaissance and the ‘Dutch Golden Age’—a period marking a novel social order closely intertwined with the history of capitalism, colonialism, the rise of private property, and individualism. Drawing on two excerpts from Dubravka Ugrešić's book of essays The Age of Skin, the piece is a collaborative endeavour involving Dutch-Indonesian tap dancer and musician Marije Nie, as well as Croatian composers and musicians Alen Sinkauz and Nenad Sinkauz.

  The residency is being carried out in collaboration with KASK School of Art Ghent.

• Museum of modern and contemporary art

  → www.mmsu.hr

  Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka (HR) - MMSU

   

  MMSU in Rijeka founded in 1948, in its long tradition offers a committed support to innovative ways of approaching, producing and presenting art. From its very beginning the Museum has been building reputation of one of the most prominent visual art institutions in Croatia, entrusted with presentation of Croatian artists at prestigious international art events such as: Venice Biennial 1962, 1997, 2007, 2010, Sao Paolo Biennial 1967, 2004 etc. 

  The Museum rounds its programming around visual art education, parallel to different modes of exhibition concepts that address new discursive possibilities and transform it into a place of inspiration, idea exchange and active participation. Under the motto openness, creativity & engagement, together with artistic, cultural and community organizations, Museum furthers visual arts research, collaboration and exchange within the region and internationally, while aspiring to reach increasingly diverse audiences and to work in a close relationship with the community.

  Museum’s collection offers a diverse range of artistic visions with over 8,000 artworks dated from the end of the 19^th century to the present day. From 2017 Museum is located at new address, Krešimirova 26c, in ex-industrial complex Rikard Benčić. Since then, some important exhibitions were organized at MMSU in the framework of the pre-program and program of Rijeka 2020 - European Capital of Culture, i.e. Tomislav Gotovac: Crisis Anticipator - Don't Ask Where We're Going (2017), Vlado Martek: Exhibition with Many Titles and Goran Petercol: Don't Worry About Poetics, They Will Arrive on Their Own in 2019 and David Maljković: With the Collection in 2020..