19 Oct THE CHOIR, 2014

The Choir, installation view, October Salon, Belgrade, 2014

The Choir, installation view, October Salon, Belgrade, 2014

The Choir, installation view, October Salon, Belgrade, 2014

The Choir, installation view, October Salon, Belgrade, 2014

The Choir, installation view, October Salon, Belgrade, 2014

Three-channel digital slides installation based on 63 archive photographs, sound, 8’24”

By exclusively using images of schools and children’s choirs, The Choir focuses on the performative characteristics of the photographic medium and its role within the society of (socialist) spectacle. Slide projection is accompanied by the sound of piano playing the popular song from the socialist period celebrating work, the song that was part of the repertoire of (almost) every school performance around Yugoslavia for years. By choosing this song, work is questioning the image of the socialist children choir that is too often perceived exclusively as a symbol of ideological indoctrination of the youngest ones.  At the same time, the work investigates the role archives play in today’s societies, and more specifically in the nation states newly established after violent historical ruptures.

Sound: Srdjan Bajski
Piano: Vladimir Vujović