Brigita Antoni is the third of three young Montenegrin artists who presented themselves together at the "Fields of Bodies" exhibition in Belgrade. Her installation "Selfie Vaginas" was exhibited in the "U10 Art Space" gallery, along with the works of Jovana Vujanović and Teodora Nikčević.
“The 'Selfie Vaginas' installation consists of six digital prints and three gifs displayed on a laptop. Through virtual reality, I show that it is possible to get rid of something superfluous, such as superfluous emotions, which does not allow the body to function fluidly. I showed this with digital drawings that were placed over photos of my body. Gifs, by their repetition, show the impossibility of getting out of this story", explains Antoni for "Vijesti".
She says that expression through new media, which are increasingly common in artistic practice, is in her case the only way to express herself and adds that "freedom comes only from the sincerity with which she approaches the idea and realization of the work."
Terms such as "selfie" and "gif" are an indispensable part of today, and Antoni turned them into art. She herself says that today too much time is spent looking at screens, but what is particularly interesting to her is that we mostly look at pictures of ourselves.
"Today we are in such a life situation where we spend a lot of time looking at screens, whether we are working or having fun. What is interesting to me, in this case, is that we are actually looking at pictures of ourselves, whether it is our photos, selfies, or we follow and read something that interests us, so it made sense to me that in this way I express myself and my emotional state through portraits and gifs as an art form," she says.
According to the artist, the exhibition "Tereni tijela" is a return to "me".
"The exhibition activates a whole series of questions related to identity and the body as a tool for mapping the world around," she pointed out and answered which questions she herself wanted to ask or which answers she offered to the audience through her work:
"First of all, I don't think we should get so attached to either identity or body. They are important, but they are not crucial and definitive, and that is what is interesting, because both body and identity can change and transform in the course of life, many times. I think it's important for people to be more aware or aware of that fact. We should strive to live consciously and freely when it comes to things like identity, body or 'I'," said Antoni.
Although today almost everything is materialized, she claims that people have the ability to choose and can afford themselves freedom and push away the material in things that are spiritual or internal, and thus choose their own way of life and set their own value system.
When asked if there will be another joint presentation in Montenegro or abroad, he says that the answer depends on the exhibition space, as well as financial assistance.
Brigita Antoni was born in 1987 in Bar. She completed graduate (2010) and postgraduate studies (2011) in graphic design at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cetinje, receiving an award for free drawing. Since 2013, he has been focusing on digital arts. She stayed at residencies in Montenegro and abroad, exhibited alone in Montenegro, and several times at collective exhibitions.
Young people should be curious
Today, it is not so difficult to gather information about what is happening in the art world, says Antoni to "Vijesta".
"It is important for young artists that they are curious enough for further education when it comes to art, because that curiosity contributes a lot to further intellectual development and, of course, to the development of their artistic practice", she points out, although she admits that she is not satisfied with the contemporary art scene in Montenegro.
"I am not satisfied when it comes to visual art. "Montenegro lacks a contemporary art scene, and there are very few people in our culture who are interested in building it," she said.
The artist answers questions that were never even asked
The goal of art is to make society aware, Antoni stated several times, and pointed out that in the world of art, the only thing that matters is that the creator sends a message and the observers understand it.
"Art, above all, should work for the benefit of society. Art should raise awareness, be it collective or individual, it should lead to self-knowledge.
Whether it will be portrayed as relaxed or fun - it doesn't matter. It is important that the message is sent by the artist and understood by the observer," she said and added:
"The artist is also a part of society and the value system it sets, and often answers questions that were not even asked of him. Art has always existed without insistence or difficulty, and it will continue to exist more and more, and the artist, as part of society, puts current problematic things in focus," she concludes.
Bonus video:
