Saving oneself, diptych, acrylic on canvas
The work was created in 2005 in an art colony in Ptuj, Slovenia. Actually, in this workshop, I was supposed to make a wooden sculpture Prayer Bench, which was to be displayed in the atrium of a beautiful renovated baroque castle with a hi-tech library. Prayer Bench was supposed to be 3 meters high. Of course, I asked for some material for the entire project and a symbolic fee of 500 euros. My request was rejected and the Tenzor Gallery director, who organized the entire event, hurled insults at me for that. Well, great! At least my compatriots won’t have to breathe in the smell of chicken shit (there is a huge chicken farm near Ptuj) which you can sense every now and then in this otherwise beautiful small town near the Drava river. Since I did spend four days there, I left them this painting, more because of Maja Marković, a custodian from Samobor, who invited me to this colony, than anything else. It is really incredible how some people are used to having artists work for free. Nothing is for free in this world (except maybe with the naive artists, but definitely not the ones from Hlebine). I have no idea where the painting ended up, but I hope they gave it to some of the sponsors.
