Serbian artist Aleksandar Todorovic delves into contemporary conflicts, shedding light on untold stories, revealing neglected histories, and deepening our understanding of our experience of conflict, both past and present. For The Armory Show, Todorovic aims to question the role of artists in representing a morally ambiguous universe.
Todorovic, an offspring of 1990s Serbia, experienced firsthand the dramatic collapse of major moral and cultural values, alongside the breakup of the Yugoslav republic and the tumultuous years of war that followed. This period was pivotal in shaping the artist's visual language, as his entire practice revolves around an investigation of human behavior and the moral decisions that give rise to both evil and contemporary art's capacity, or incapacity, to portray evil in the world. As the world grapples with current global events and the U.S. elections, the relevance of his political works takes center stage, adding a profound layer of significance to the project. As the global political scenery triggers Todorovic's traumatic war experiences growing up in Serbia, infusing his creations with raw emotion and personal history, the temporal connection to the current global event enhances the relevance of Todorovic's creations, emphasizing the impact of political events on artistic expression and investigating on their output. This alignment with the contemporary moment amplifies the urgency and poignancy of the artist's social commentary.
His artworks employ formats derived from the depiction of religious iconography, particularly Byzantine art and Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, as a visual language to address contemporary political and societal issues from a humanist perspective. The juxtaposition of the sacred and the secular, combined with the unmistakable parallels between political or economic structures and religious hierarchies, underscores the relevance of Todorovic's work. This universally accessible style of storytelling serves as an ideal platform to discuss both global, large-scale issues and very specific, niche topics. By utilizing a logical and easily understandable structure, alongside popular logos, symbols, and archetypal characters, while embedding numerous hidden messages throughout, Todorovic effectively conveys his message without causing offense to either the Orthodox Christian community or any other group he may critique.
Conclusively, the booth explores the forces of evil as a cultural phenomenon beyond politics, revealing them as a driving force behind the artist's most powerful works. His images historicize evil and the seductive allure of power, while focusing the mind on past, present, and inevitably, future calamities. The implication is that, irrespective of the severity of the conflict, art can provide a pathway to healing.
