Luana Lojić | Artists in Residence | Kamov Residency

Luana Lojić

Luana Lojić was born in 1991 in Pula. She graduated in 2016 from the Department of New Media, Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts. She is a member of the art collective Ljubavnice (Mistresses), whose practice focuses on an interdisciplinary integration of science and art, and informal art collective M28. Lojić is interested in applied cosmophilia and digital nomadism. From poetry for stones to live installations, videos, film, voiceover and live art that thematize the relationship of man with the systems, perceptions and materialities that surround him, Lojić seeks to understand the natural processes outside and within the concept of the senses. As part the above said collective, and in continuous collaborations with scientists and experts, she explores the possibilities of entwining different poetics and examines hybrid media solutions. In 2020, she received a special recognition for her work What is Sound? 2.0_Alpha blending on the 35th Youth Salon. The work was shown dozens of times in Croatia, as well as abroad, e.g. at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz and Recontres Monde(s) Multiple(s) in Bourges, and it was cited as an example of experimental methodology at the University of Technology, Sydney. At the 27th Slavonian Biennale, she was awarded a special award for her work bits of Real: For development purposes only.  Lojić also received the third prize for experimental film Neptunism at the Croatian Filmmaking Festival in 2014 in Vukovar. From October 2021 to January 2022, she was an artist-in-residence at the Akademie Schloss Solitude.

16.01.-05.02.2023.

As an artist-in-residence in Rijeka, Luana Lojić examines the unbreakable ties between the city and its waters, primarily the influence of the Rječina River on the city’s geomorphological properties. She is interested in how the Rječina is treated and neglected today, and how the interventions on the riverbed and source, such as the redirection of the river’s flow in the 19th century, the construction of the dam, and the formation of an artificial lake for the hydroelectric power plant near the village of Valići (1968), have altered the natural and urban environment. Lujić examines how the interchange of dry periods and torrential flows, caused by the climate change, affect biological materials and river species (which gather in the vortices during dry periods), and how the modern architecture of the city affects the river and its underground flows, such as the one in the immediate vicinity of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Lujić’s great artistic curiosity about materials and sensory stimuli and the ways in which they can be reinterpreted, translated or transferred to another medium or to another location (for example, the storing of scents and perishable organic materials), will be the main themes in Lujić’s production in Rijeka. During her visit to Rijeka and the Rječina river, Lujić would gather raw materials and make videos, photographs and drawings, which would be used in the production of the works. 

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..