Rosehip
Lola Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova
27/9/2017 – 21/10/2017
Opening: 27/9/2017 at 20:00
Lecture performance: 29/9/2017 at 20:00
Address: Klubi i Boksit, Rruga Mark Isaku 8, 10000 Prishtinë, Republika e Kosovës
Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina is please to present Rosehip, a solo exhibition with Lola Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova.
Rosehip is constructed on an artist research, localized in New York, based on film, performance, and music. It recreates popular movie scenes that had an impactful visual identity coming through cinema. Being physically present in a place previously experienced virtually and feeling that "the cinematic magic" is gone brings up the question what are we being served to perceive as well as our need to reach and embody this lost magic through Rosehip.
We are what we see on television and through popular media. No matter where we live our identity is more influenced and shaped by the films, music, and media rather than our surroundings.
The stereotypes that are constructed by global media coverage can be seen as a model to follow, at the same time functioning as a memorial that is neglected by the collective conciseness. What we experience virtually may not be real but it does shape our ideas and judgments about the norms and the society.
Rosehip is you, Rosehip is me, Rosehip is us, Rosehip is them, Rosehip is it, Rosehip is he and she, Rosehip is we, Rosehip is a bird, Rosehip is a dog, Rosehip is a bottle, Rosehip is a table.
Landing here the magic was lost, we were searching for it, and seeing it more away. Rosehip is a wildflower growing without the sun, without the care, grows in the shadows, everywhere.
All there is, is just a cake!
Lola Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova work as a duo but also independently or in collaboration with other artists.
Lola Sylaj is part of HAVEIT, a collective of 4 women artists whose art vehemently rebels against power, nationalism, LGBT discrimination and the oppression of women prevalent in Kosovo society. They also work to illustrate their struggle with the day-to-day difficulties confronted by the majority of citizens today. Their artistic performances are often staged in public spaces.
Dardan Zhegrova’s work plays with the flux between language and its translation into visual representation. In his works emotion is used as an artistic medium that potentially could act as a means to question our assumptions about intimacy and expression. Mostly known for his videos the artist can be regarded as a poet in a time where physical proximity is being replaced by an ubiquitous availability through modern means of communication. Dardan Zhegrova is represented by LambdaLambdaLambda.
Rosehip with Lola Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova is part of annual program of exhibitions of Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina and a component of Artists of Tomorrow Award.
Lola Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova are winners of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016.
Anne Barlow, Petrit Halilaj, Miran Mohar, Milica Tomić and Anna Witt were members of the jury of the Artists of Tomorrow Award 2016.
The Artists of Tomorrow Award is a unique project which provides young visual artists under the age of 35 the opportunity to produce new work, be part of a tailored education process, have meetings and presentation for an international jury, have a joint exhibition with finalists at Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, but also to travel to the United States and experience New York’s dynamic art scene for a two month residency at Residency Unlimited.
The winners of Artists of Tomorrow Award are also awarded with a solo exhibition at Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, following their return from US.
The Artists of Tomorrow Award is part of the Young Visual Artists Awards program - a network of ten similar awards organized throughout Central and Eastern Europe founded in 1989 in Czechoslovakia by President Vaclav Havel and dissident artists with the intention of supporting the emergence and development of contemporary art and civil society.
In September 2015, Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina has been tasked to assume leadership of the Artist of Tomorrow Award (AOT) in Kosovo starting with the first cycle in 2016 and with building upon and carrying forward the legacy of the Award.
Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina aims to enhance the potential and influence of The Artists of Tomorrow Award in the general developments in contemporary art in the whole territory of Kosovo.
Finalists of Arists of Tomorrow Award 2017 are Meriton Maloku, Enesa Xheladini and Jetullah Sulejmani. Members of the Jury for Arists of Tomorrow Award 2017 are Charles Esche, Erëmirë Krasniqi, Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez, Adrian Deva and Renaud Proch.
The Artists of Tomorrow Award is supported by Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo and U.S. Embassy in Kosovo.
Rosehip with Lola Sylaj and Dardan Zhegrova is also supported by the Municipality of Prishtina, x-Print and DZG.