Curatorial Work 2014-23 > Between Clock and Bed

Natalija Mijatovic
Bodig
Natalija Mijatovic
Bodig
acrylic, graphite and conté on wood
30" x 24"
2014

natalijamijatovic.com
Exhibition Statement
Internally, I dwell in uninhabited residual landscapes of urban decay and gray facades of soc-realist architecture of Eastern Europe. I remember my previous life as a wintery silence of an empty city, ashes of the burnt home, and snow. General theme of my work is landscape, natural or industrial, my recurrent interest in stillness defined by the quiet void of human presence. My approach is an amalgam of extracting visual shapes from their logical setting taken out of the context, yet realistically rendered; and juxtaposing them against flat or sub-spatial backgrounds. Multilayered veils of thin glazed surfaces reduce structures to a residual patina that recalls space and time. This creates the idea of traces of human presence felt in the residue of the space’s emptiness. These traces are revealed in the subtle implications of representational imagery and yet they are abstracted so that their presence borders on the surreal. Subtle linear system ties my entire oeuvre together: the structure remains intact beneath the curtain that the viewer navigates, recalling their own experiences and nostalgic inference associated with these now unoccupied spaces and landscapes. Their quietude is my prayer.