Unfinished. Yoko Ono.
Exhibition in Montenegro, Museum of Contemporary Art. Podgorica, Petrović Castle and Perjanički Dom. From June 19 to September 25. Curators: Gunar B. Kvaran, Maša Vlaović, Connor Monahan. Typical opening ceremony. Formal speeches. Crowds of audience.
Unfinished. Yoko Ono.
Minimalism. And monumentality within it.
An exhibition that you, the visitors, need to complete, complete, be a part of... So, imagine, speak, write, share, supplement, react...
A multitude of works. Interaction. Performance. Action, reaction, interaction. A lot of action. But also poetics. A multitude of thoughts, stimuli, inspiration, creation, motivation. Completely natural, spontaneous, desired. Each a little or all of them... It doesn't matter. Everything is allowed. Freedom. Criticism. Impulse. Art. You are here. Present. In the universe and the world of Yoko Ono. Make use of it.
“Yoko Ono’s ‘Unfinished’ Exhibition is an Exhibition of Revolutionary Instructional Art Yoko Ono born in 1933. These concise poetic texts invite the audience to physically and mentally engage in the creation of the works realized in the exhibition, in the form of participatory pieces, performances, texts and films. Emphasizing themes of transience, interpretation and change, Yoko Ono questions conventional understandings of art. Her work resists the concept of a predetermined end and positions the audience as an active participant, thereby demonstrating that our imagination can create new realities. Her art is rooted in the belief that the artist’s job is not to destroy but to change the value of things and as such transcends the boundaries of museum walls, calling for peace, empowering women and inspiring social change on a global scale”...
That is the message that will greet visitors to the exhibition on one of the walls of the Petrović Castle. Listen to it and let yourself be carried away. Visit the exhibition and experience it. There is no need to write or read about it. Be a part of it.
“This line is part of a very large circle”... If you see that line, you are inside the circle... You are part of that very large circle.
“Many rooms, many dreams, many countries in the same space”... You are probably in that very room. In just one of many rooms. In Montenegro, one of many countries in the world.
“Wishing Tree”... It's not far away. You must have dreams! And wishes! Write them down and hang them, let them sway on the wishing tree between the Castle and the Feather House...
“My mother is beautiful”... Yes, she is! Join in: “Write your thoughts for your mother or pin her photo to a canvas.” Breathe, process, and go...
“White chess set”. Yes, white! “Play as long as you can remember where whose pieces are”... Take your position and make a move.
“A picture for hammering nails”... A hammer, a nail and a picture! So: “Every morning you hammer a nail into a mirror, a piece of glass, canvas, wood or metal... Then you pick up the hair that fell out when you combed your hair in the morning and wrap it around the nail you hammered in. The picture is finished when the surface is covered with nails”... Liberating, diverse, necessary, exciting, both good and anxious.
“Collectible Piece II”... Sit down, grab your tools, you can do whatever you want! So: “Break the contemporary museum into pieces with the tools of your choice. Collect the pieces and put them back together with glue.” It's interesting. Symbolic. Spiritual...
“A piece to fix”... They're everywhere! “Fix carefully. Think about fixing the world at the same time.” The world needs fixing!
“Secret Piece”... Secret. Discover: “Decide on one note you want to play. Play it with the following accompaniment: Forest from 5 to 8 in the morning in the summer”. It's the right time”
“Ending Piece”: “Each planet has its own orbital plan. Imagine that people close to you are planets. Sometimes it's nice just to watch them orbit and shine”...
“A picture to build in your head.” Oh, yes! “Look carefully at the three pictures. Blend them well in your head.”... Here you go...
“This is not here.” It is not. Or is it?
“This room glows in the dark.” Maybe?
“Touch.” Touch. You can. You don't have to.
“This is the ceiling.” Parquet.
“Flight Piece: Fly.” Simple!
“The Bag Piece”. The bags are in front of you. “The performers can be two men, two women or a mixed couple. The performers carry a bag large enough for both of them to fit inside. The bag is made of opaque material. Both performers enter the bag. Inside, they take off all their clothes. Then they put all their clothes back on. They get out of the bag. They leave the stage with the bag”... Here you go.
“Work to be trampled on”. At least touch it. Why not. Who knows how many footprints and steps that work has collected.
“Room Piece IV”. For the room and for yourself... “Count all the words in a book instead of reading them. Count all the objects in the room without classifying them. Clear your mind. Clear your room. Arrange your room the way you want your head to be arranged”.
"In this nearly infinite universe", in the universe of Yoko Oko... With music of her choice, in her exhibition that you complete, if you wish...
“This playlist traces the range of Yoko Ono’s musical expression from raw and avant-garde, through melodic ballads, to rock anthems and exploratory projects with dance. Her voice moves between screams and whispers, rebellion and prayer, searching for strength through vulnerability and truth. Her early works helped shape the sonic vocabulary of punk music and noise, while individual tracks in her catalog reveal a sensitive lyrical singer-songwriter - politically bold, introspective and always ahead of her time - introducing the conceptual rigor of her artistic expression into deeply sensitive unexpected forms. The selected tracks are an invitation for the audience to experience Yoko Ono as a visionary artist whose sound continues to resonate across generations”... What a playlist! You listen to the music, you tour the exhibition, you supplement it... Sound and art that resonate across generations...
“Rising”. Absorb: “Listen to your heart. Honor your intuition. Realize your manifestation. There are no limits. Be brave/heroine. Have anger. We are all in this together. Follow your heart. Use your intuition. Realize your manifestation. There is no confusion. Be brave/heroine. Have anger. We rise”. Intuitively and consciously: Let’s rise!
“An Invitation”, Yoko Ono Addresses the Eye... “To women of all ages from all countries of the world: you are invited to send your testimony of the harm done because you are a woman. Write your testimony, in your own language, in your own words, and write as openly as you wish. You can sign your name, if you wish, but do not give your full name. Send a photo of only your eyes. The testimony of the harm done and the photos of your eyes will be preserved and exhibited in my installation 'Rising'... From June 19 to September 15, 2025, as part of my exhibition - Yoko Ono 'Unfinished', at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro. The installation Rising will continue to grow and will be exhibited in many countries. I very much hope for your participation! (first written on April 29, 2013, revised on May 5, 2025)...
Years and years, eras, ideas, motifs. During the summer of 2025 in Podgorica, "Unfinished", an exhibition by Yoko Ono.
Exclusive performance “Wrapping Piece” at the opening, a replica from 1962.
In the text of the accompanying exhibition catalog, curator Maša Vlaović describes each of the displayed works in great detail, offers an interpretation of the character and work of Yoko Ono and her influence on the world of contemporary art, and reflects on the present day.
Exclusively performed at the opening, in contrast to the famous performance “Cut Piece” from 1964, the opening of the Perjanički Dom featured the performance “Wrapping Piece”, which the artist first performed in 1962.
“In it, the audience is invited to participate in the performance and to use a bandage that covers the performer’s body. The bandage as an artistic element has a symbolic meaning. Through this participatory work, Yoko Ono explored the themes of identity, limitations, vulnerability and protection. She instructs us that by exploring the boundaries of our body, we also explore the boundaries of our self. The surface of the skin separates and protects us from the outside world. We forget, the body remembers. We make decisions, the body decides anyway. We suppress, the body resists. The body communicates, sends messages, collects impressions, feels. Bandages symbolize norms, repression and social limitations that are imposed on us in everyday life. On the other hand, they symbolically carry a deeper message and faith in healing. This performance also opens up the question of collective and personal identity, because when the body is wrapped in a bandage, it becomes anonymous and protected from external influences,” writes Vlaović.
She points out that most of Yoko Ono's works are focused primarily on the psychology of disclosure, and on the conquest of personal freedom and introspection, which the performance itself speaks about in a way, located in a room at Perjanički Dom where the audience can see the author's films and video works.
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Bonus video:
