Discomfited futures. [Exhibition]

Zećo, Maja

Abstract

This is the first solo exhibition of the sound and performance artist Maja Zećo in Skopje. Zećo hails from Sarajevo but for the last ten years has been living and working in Scotland. Zećo's practice traces the interstices and overlaps between performance, sound and moving image. The exhibition is a selection of work made in the context of Scotland which opens out these nuanced relationships. Her work has always had a strong performative grounding, as can be seen in Grains of Sound (2016), where the artist was buried in a tonne of soil, emerging over time. The relationships between sound and performance develops further in the ongoing piece Silencer (2018-present), featuring a suit made of the type of sound-damping material normally found on the walls of radio stations. This innately sculptural material encases the artist as she interacts with audiences in public spaces, recording all the sounds and dialogue that she encounters via binaural microphones. This is an ongoing relational piece that has been performed in several cities between Aberdeen and London, drawing on themes of displacement, discomfort in public space, and the range of audience interactions from bewilderment to humour. In Search of the Sun problematises the legacy of modernism and the vexed problems around global migration, in response to climate change. Commissioned by Aberdeen Art Gallery in response to J.D. Fergusson's modernist portrait bust Eastre : Hymn to the Sun, Zećo's inhabiting of the character of Eastre- a golden goddess figure of transnational qualities- opens out the limiting imaginaries of colonialism and maps them onto their contemporary mutations in response to migration, drawing on the artist's own diasporic experience, and critical response to the movement of people caused by climate change and conflict. The devastating images seen from the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the live-streamed genocide in Palestine, underpin the newest pieces: the sound installation and performance piece Dissolutions, first shown in 2022 at Summerhall in Edinburgh; and the new performance piece Defend and Protect, first shown at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Zagreb last October. These works relate to the erosion of our common expectations of being kept safe by the state, and to a peaceful life, coupled with the urgency to prepare for our common discomfited futures, ourselves. Dissolutions will be performed on the opening night, whilst Defend and Protect will be performed in public space, during the run of this exhibition.

Citation

ZEĆO, M. 2024. Discomfited futures. [Exhibition]. Exhibited 24 October - 16 November 2024, Institute of Contemporary Art, Zagreb; 14-26 June 2025, SCS Centar Jadro, Skopje.

• Exhibition Performance Type: Exhibition
• Start Date: Oct 24, 2024
• End Date: Nov 16, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 27, 2025
• Keywords: Sound and performance art; Moving image; Sarajevo; Scotland; Diasporic experiences
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2885737
• Additional Information: This exhibition was held at Institute for Contemporary Art, Zagreb 24 October - 16 November 2024 and SCS Centar-Jadro, Skopje 14-26 June 2025. ISBN: 9789538027239; The files associated with this output consists of an exhibition catalogue and exhibition poster which have been incorporated into a single file on this repository.