As part of the Future of Work 2020 Conference
We offer participants of our third conference on the future of work a virtual tour of Sava Knežević’s Territory of Working Environments from the comfort and safety of their homes. Let your own emotions and those of the artist guide you on your online visit to U10 Art Space as you explore the new spaces of our lives.
Territory of Working Environments is a reflection on the key topic of the conference, where the future is placed centre stage, especially at this time of uncertainty brought about by the ongoing pandemic and the mass shift to remote working. Focusing on the issue of uncertainty, on the cusp between what is now and what comes next, the author employs both drawing and creates an installation that merges glass, colour, and space.
The author interprets topics that are common knowledge but defy a single-sided reading, instead allowing one to look at the broader context of man in the unpredictable society and community of today. Boxes and spent blister packs of medicines hint at a refuge where the consumer culture system attempts to ‘heal’ us in small doses. They are a comment of sorts that both introduces the onlooker to today’s state of affairs but also ambiguously asks whether the problem with modern life perhaps lies in its sense of unfinishedness and a recognition that things are not as they seem.
The installation is in the form of a traditional stained glass window, a sumptuous decorative element whose clear geometric mullions bring a sense of balance to the space. Here we face a work whose glass facets are painted with cold white shelves containing medicines that become clearer as the light shines through them.
In their presentation, the spontaneous and unaffected drawings and the stained glass installations deny any aesthetic pretensions and create an unsubstantial, mystical atmosphere, making it difficult to decide whether these scenes attract or repel us. All elements of Territory of Working Environments admonish us and remind us of their purpose and function in our daily rituals in time of uncertainty, as we live the dilemma: do I believe in the power and ability to cure problems, or does doing so only make the symptoms visible?
Ivan Sukovic Art Exhibition Coordinator
Sava Knežević graduated painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. His work is regularly exhibited at shows both in Serbia and abroad. Sava joined ULUS, the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia, in 2012. He has authored and contributed to murals at multiple sites throughout Serbia and taken part in volunteering programmes for children without parental care and children with special needs. Sava is a co-founder of U10 Art Space and teaches at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade.
