Milosavljevic’s works seem to fit into what Nicolas Bourriaud called the exform field, that is the place where the border negotiations take place between those who are excluded and those who are accepted, between the product and the waste*. What the critic calls exform “is a form which is seized by exclusion stakes, either cultural, social or political. A form whose outlines are delimited by the resistances it faces. The exform appears, then, as a moving territory crossed by centrifugal or centripetal forces, by mechanisms of rejection and rehabilitation**”. Starting from these considerations, the suggestion that derives from the different ready-made combinations created by Milosavljevic leads to consider the waste material in relation to the multiple economic, social and political dynamics that intervene in the contemporary world. In the Ah (2020 [pp. 22-23]) series, objets trouvés are ecological furs discarded by industrial fashion productions because they are regarded as inadequate for the market trends of the season. The artist presents them compressed in three-dimensional plexiglas geometric structures that appear enigmatic at first sight. The arrangement of the artificial fur inside the transparent plastic material creates a suggestive chromatic effect resembling the veins of precious marbles. Milosavljevic thus creates compositions that evoke the imitation of marble practices developed since ancient times to simulate wealth, where it was not possible to have the original stones available. Therefore, in this series, the ambiguity of perception offers a point of thought about the processes that determine the value of an object. In Perpetual penetration with emptiness in between (2020 [p. 34]), the glass vases evoke distant domestic atmospheres. These are compositions of abandoned objects, of different origin, which Milosavljevic has carefully selected by finding perfectly matching specimens. The decorative character of the elements vanishes through a penetration that denies their original identity. The generated structures thus acquire an aesthetic value that recalls the themes of sexuality and abandonment. Synthetic furs and fragments of marble of different origins are present in the works Everything a man should be - Juicy (2019 [p. 27]), A man as big as a house (2019 [p. 26]), Daddy’s Rose (2020 [p. 29]), and Preserve Purity (2019 [pp. 30-31]). These materials forcibly connected together create an alienating, at times disturbing, narrative. For the artist, the contrast between the rigid and cold stone and the soft fur that is able to capture heat acts as an expedient to reflect on the theme of gender identity and its development in a culture that provides a single model of expression. The sculptures become simulacra of the aesthetics of the different, of innocence and violence. Even in the work Top on Top, Ass on Ass (2017 [pp.32-33]), Milosavljevic creates an unexpected combination by subjecting an egg to the tension of an elastic band that wraps around a parallelepiped in Carrara marble. The instability effect of the composition and the precariousness of the egg involve the observer in a dynamic of uncertainty, fragility and vulnerability. Finally, in the photographic series Dark Times (2017 [p. 11]), through the forced manipulation of lights, the artist carries out a process of re-signification of the representations. A firework display or the bombs went off in Belgrade provoke the same participation among the public. The inversion of light and shadow thus aims to shed light on the cultural and social contexts within which the explosions take place. Milosavljevic’s poetics therefore starts from a reflection on the fragment, on the object laden with history, on the events that have generated a change and on their memory. Through the collection of abandoned objects and their recycling in artistic productions, the artist develops the practice of readymade through multiple combinations and becomes the architect of forced narratives that aim to generate reflections on the theme of identity and memory.

By Amalia Nangeroni

Milosavljevic’s works seem to fit into what Nicolas Bourriaud called the exform field, that is the place where the border negotiations take place between those who are excluded and those who are accepted, between the product and the waste*. What the critic calls exform “is a form which is seized by exclusion stakes, either cultural, social or political. A form whose outlines are delimited by the resistances it faces. The exform appears, then, as a moving territory crossed by centrifugal or centripetal forces, by mechanisms of rejection and rehabilitation**”. Starting from these considerations, the suggestion that derives from the different ready-made combinations created by Milosavljevic leads to consider the waste material in relation to the multiple economic, social and political dynamics that intervene in the contemporary world. In the Ah (2020 [pp. 22-23]) series, objets trouvés are ecological furs discarded by industrial fashion productions because they are regarded as inadequate for the market trends of the season. The artist presents them compressed in three-dimensional plexiglas geometric structures that appear enigmatic at first sight. The arrangement of the artificial fur inside the transparent plastic material creates a suggestive chromatic effect resembling the veins of precious marbles. Milosavljevic thus creates compositions that evoke the imitation of marble practices developed since ancient times to simulate wealth, where it was not possible to have the original stones available. Therefore, in this series, the ambiguity of perception offers a point of thought about the processes that determine the value of an object. In Perpetual penetration with emptiness in between (2020 [p. 34]), the glass vases evoke distant domestic atmospheres. These are compositions of abandoned objects, of different origin, which Milosavljevic has carefully selected by finding perfectly matching specimens. The decorative character of the elements vanishes through a penetration that denies their original identity. The generated structures thus acquire an aesthetic value that recalls the themes of sexuality and abandonment. Synthetic furs and fragments of marble of different origins are present in the works Everything a man should be - Juicy (2019 [p. 27]), A man as big as a house (2019 [p. 26]), Daddy’s Rose (2020 [p. 29]), and Preserve Purity (2019 [pp. 30-31]). These materials forcibly connected together create an alienating, at times disturbing, narrative. For the artist, the contrast between the rigid and cold stone and the soft fur that is able to capture heat acts as an expedient to reflect on the theme of gender identity and its development in a culture that provides a single model of expression. The sculptures become simulacra of the aesthetics of the different, of innocence and violence. Even in the work Top on Top, Ass on Ass (2017 [pp.32-33]), Milosavljevic creates an unexpected combination by subjecting an egg to the tension of an elastic band that wraps around a parallelepiped in Carrara marble. The instability effect of the composition and the precariousness of the egg involve the observer in a dynamic of uncertainty, fragility and vulnerability. Finally, in the photographic series Dark Times (2017 [p. 11]), through the forced manipulation of lights, the artist carries out a process of re-signification of the representations. A firework display or the bombs went off in Belgrade provoke the same participation among the public. The inversion of light and shadow thus aims to shed light on the cultural and social contexts within which the explosions take place. Milosavljevic’s poetics therefore starts from a reflection on the fragment, on the object laden with history, on the events that have generated a change and on their memory. Through the collection of abandoned objects and their recycling in artistic productions, the artist develops the practice of readymade through multiple combinations and becomes the architect of forced narratives that aim to generate reflections on the theme of identity and memory.

By Amalia Nangeroni