“A Blank Map” solo exhibition of photographs by Nemanja Knezevic will be opened on June 2 in the Kula Gallery

At the solo exhibition, which will be opened at the Kula Gallery from June 2 to June 19, Nemanja Knezevic will present photographs taken in Sarajevo between 2014 and 2020. Knezevic is an author whose photographic practice is primarily encouraged by movement across the Balkans and Europe, and his research into public spaces is focused on observing seemingly common scenes that stand out with atmosphere or location-specific details. Separated from everyday life, these scenes become raw depictions of the place – authentic, undirected scenes whose transience makes them especially alluring.

Essay by Masa Selincic will be placed on the walls within the exhibition in dialogue with photographs: walking as a method connects both of these authorial views of Sarajevo, which suggest dynamic reading of the city by accumulating individual experiences and perspectives, without the final answers about its nature. Sarajevo seeks engagement from observers and visitors, but also a commitment to recognizing the historical, cultural and political context which is subtly present on the streets.

To truly experience a place means to overcome tourist toponyms and strategic points, it means to understand the city and not just visit it.

That is exactly why the exhibition was conceived as a collage, in micro-units that require the effort of passing through and connecting fragments. Blank map – the title of the exhibition and essay – refer to a space to which photographs and text give only one possible meaning; a proposal, instead of an artistic claim. In that sense, this is not the final form of the author’s research of Sarajevo, but a step in an attempt to approach the layered spaces of this city through text / image, which is most honestly viewed as a map subject to manipulation and reading. Therefore, a small space for playing / enrolling visitors will be open during the exhibition.

Some photographs, as well as the essay, make up a two-part publication named after the exhibition, whose art direction and design is signed by the Metaklinika studio. This bilingual edition (Serbian / English) will be available in a limited edition in Kula, and numbered copies will be available for purchase at the opening and during the exhibition. Within the space of the Kula, a limited series of prints will be available, as well as other printed materials. The visual identity of the event is signed by Mane Radmanovic.

BETWEEN JUNE 2 AND 19, SEVERAL GUIDES WITH THE CURATOR OF THE GALLERY, DUSAN SAVIC, WILL BE ORGANIZED, AS WELL AS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE PUBLICATION IN WHICH NEMANJA KNEZEVIC, MASA SENICIC AND NENAD TRIFUNOVIC (DESIGN STUDIO METAKLINIKA) WILL PARTICIPATE. THE DATES OF THESE EVENTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SUBSEQUENTLY ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA OF KULA GALLERY