Colors and forms connections in artist from Serbia Jelena Prokopovič creation path

Colors and forms connections in artist from Serbia Jelena Prokopovič creation path .

Young generation artist Jelena Prokopovič lives and works in Novi Sad, Serbia. This is an internationally recognized artist Jelena Prokopovič. In 2011 - 2015, she graduated with honors from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Sculpture at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. In 2019, she continued her studies in the field of sculpture at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. The internationally recognized artist is often inspired by nature, influenced by the names of famous artists. The artist is often inspired by nature, social, political, cultural and existential issues in her work. Expressive colors and shapes, constantly changing themes are of great importance in the visual paintings of artist Jelena Prokopovič. I would like to thank artist Jelena for the interesting interview. Artist Jelena Prokovič was interviewed by artcritic  Gabrielė Kuizinaitė. 1.Could you describe your artistic way and journey from the start career till these days? I was born in 1992 in Sremska Mitrovica, a small town in the northwest of Serbia. The city, which was once an important part of the Roman Empire, is still home to important archaeological sites that I loved to visit as a child. Maybe that's where my love for sculpture developed. My parents recognized my talent at an early age and I quickly started taking private drawing lessons. When I was about 10 years old, I knew that the Academy of Arts was my goal and I never thought that I could do another job. I completed Bachelor studies in 2015., and Master in Fine Arts in 2019. at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Department of Sculpture. However, my love for painting developed parallel. Today, I am equally engaged in painting and sculpture. I live and work in Novi Sad. What inspires you in your creative processes? I draw inspiration for my art from my immediate surroundings and generally from observing the world in which I find myself. Today, it is impossible to remain isolated from informations related to global events, and unfortunately, we are witnessing major changes on a global level. Growing up in Serbia after the collapse of Yugoslavia, left a deep mark on my adult life. Led by that experience, I am very much affected by current events in the world, and my art is indirectly related to it. The series of works I'm currently working on is called "Fields of Dystopia" and are about the absurdity of the destruction that we as a society produce. Witch artists, styles, movements and directions have most influence on your work? I love contemporary art very much, because it fully satisfies my need for breadth of expression and does not limit me in any sense. I was greatly influenced by artists like Adrian Ghenie, Achraf Touloub, but also Francis Bacon, Tracy Emin. Then the movie directors, very important for my artistic development, Michael Haneke, Andrey Tarkovsky and many others. I like to take inspiration from everyone that touches me and thus expand my horizons and also to help me get to know myself. What is your memorable project and why? My biggest and most significant project so far is an art installation called "Habitat", realized in 2019. in the old brick factory in Belgrade. The installation contained over a hundred sculptures measuring up to 3 meters height and they represented an imaginary world that I created. That exhibition was inspired by dystopia and post-apocalypse. I created a world completely opposite to ours, a world without hierarchy and competitiveness. What is your memorable artwork cycles or arts projects and why? The series of works that I have been working on for a long time, "Fields of Dystopia", I classify as my most mature body of work so far, both in the artistic and philosophical sense. The images from this series were created as a visual response to personal experience and collective reflection on contemporary events in the world, and as an abstract landscape, the paintings evoke a Field of Dystopia. These paintings are transitional models, notes of thoughts, desires, needs and emotions that I, as a woman and as an artist, face in a society that on a global level is entrenched in totalitarianism, inhumanity, ecological catastrophe, as well as any kind of single-mindedness. Such a society, frightening and hostile to humanistic values, is in direct conflict with the traditional values that are integrated in me and my culture. The paintings I create are sometimes related to certain people from my life, who left a great impact on me, and sometimes that dialogue comes down to introspection and my paintings then take the form of complete abstraction in which I articulate my current emotional states. What is important in your work from the viewers perspectives? I think that something that is authentically related to my work is precisely the specific way of building pictures. At the beginning, I don't have an idea about a realistic presentation of a story that I want to convey to the viewer, but I have an emotion. The best pictures are always taken after some important moments in my personal life. In general, I'm not a talkative person and I have a hard time expressing myself verbally. I am like that in art too. My painting is abstract and I strive to convey pure emotion. I use the suggestiveness of color, layering it in a way to conduct an internal dialogue, thus creating authentic and meaningful images. In communicating with the audience, I realized that they are most intrigued by the originality and great emotional charge in my pictures. How does Serbia look today from the eyes of famous artists? As a small country in the Balkans, throughout history we have been in an ungrateful geopolitical position. Today we have a fight over resources, lithium exploitation, cheap labor. However, in the last ten months, Serbia has been intensively going through a very turbulent period at the internal level. After the collapse of the railway station building in Novi Sad, the city where I live, and the death of 16 people, the country was met with unexpectedly large protests, that didn‘t happen even in the 1990s during the rule of Slobodan Milošević. Mass student protests took place that restored faith in democracy, which is experiencing a major crisis not only in Serbia, but also in Europe, and certainly in global. I think this is a great chance for my country to straighten the rudder and finally finish with the autocratic regime that is in power. Also, I immodestly think that this is a good example from which Europe would have a lot to learn about togetherness, empathy, determination and humanistic values that these young people remind us of. What are your upcoming art project in your country and abroad? I am currently preparing works for two large exhibitions, one of which will be held in my hometown, Sremska Mitrovica, during the next year. This exhibition will be realized as part of the award I won at the art competition last year. The second exhibition is planned in Geneva, Switzerland, which I am very much looking forward to. My goal is to present my work to as many people as possible from different fields, because the feedback I receive is very important to me. It inspires me to create further and gives my pictures a chance for a new life.