Centre of Belgrade, the park of the Museum of Yu- goslavia, but also numerous public locations in the Serbian capital, where more than 140 works by art- ists from all over the world will be presented. And all of them are “The Dreamers”, as the title of the 58 th October Salon suggests. “The timeless and universal space of dreams can overcome barriers of culture, gender, religion, lan- guage and others, and plays a fundamental role in defining the human spirit,” say October Salon cura- tors Ilaria Marotta and Andrea Bacin, adding even more intrigue. Among the many foreign authors, we are sin- gling out Than Hussein Clark, a 40-year-old art- ist from London who’s known for blending gen- res, often even beyond the realm of fine arts. To him, the material can be from literature, the the- atre and all other accomplishments of the intel- lect that he synthesises conceptually. “The central focus of my work is exploring history and theat- ricality, and distorting the meaning of both,” says Clark enigmatically. Is it sometimes enough for a work to be vis- ually interesting in order to intrigue the ob- server? “Works of art must engage the observer in mul- tiple ways. Beauty is often actually in the content, while the aesthetics are politics.” What kind of artwork are you preparing for the October Salon? “I will present a radio drama comprising 16 ep- isodes, created in cooperation with Radio Belgrade and local theatre directors, as well as a series of post- ers. This work is inspired by Susan Sontag’s first novel, The Benefactor, and explores what happens to the psyche when dreams and reality collide.” What does exhibiting in Belgrade mean to you? “I’m at my happiest when projects offer me the possibility to explore a new context and new nar- ratives and histories. Thus, the presentation in Bel- grade enabled me to approach topics with which I’d previously had no contact.” Have you ever been to Belgrade? “I was fortunate enough to visit Belgrade just be- fore the pandemic, in December 2019. Under differ- ent circumstances, I would spend much more time there in preparation for exhibiting at the October Sa- lon, which would actually be an extended act of imag- ining the geography, topography and history of Bel- grade. I’m excited to be returning to your city in June, for the opening of my work, when I will revisit the places and people that have haunted my imagination.” Why did you choose to live in London? “London is extremely diverse - it’s a map of the world, and I learned how to be part of London’s cre- ative community.”
58 TH OCTOBER SALON “THE DREAMERS” Belgrade haunts artistic imagination
Among the many foreign authors, we are singling out Than Hussein Clark, a 40-year-old artist from London who’s known for blending genres, often even beyond the realm of fine arts.
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN TODAY’S WORLD, EVEN FOR Belgrade’s most important event in the field of visual arts, the October Salon, to be held in June, July and August. The reason for rescheduling the festivities isn’t some calendar magic, but rather the collective anguish that’s known globally and that we won’t even mention by name. That’s because we wouldn’t want to disrupt the joy of all those who’ve been eagerly awaiting announcements of the open- ing date of this international exhibition - 25 th June. That’s when all art lovers will flock to the Muse- um of the City of Belgrade, at 40b Resavska Street, as well as to the gallery and the Hall of the Cultural
Tekst/Words: Dragana Nikoletić Fotografije/Photography: Mark Blower
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