Movement II
At this exhibition, we will be able to see the latest development of Jeremic's sculptures. Jeremic found the inspiration for his perforations in stone in Henry Moore’s vitalized forms which presented the „universal symbol“ of completely opposite, yet reciprocal principles, such as full – empty, small – large, even – uneven, round – angular, horizontal – vertical and others, therefore in that sense of the word the spatial aspect of the form is reconciled, as well as real and artificial nature. However, unlike the anthropomorphic characteristics of Moore's sculptures, Ivan's sculptures are abstract and multi-significant signs which present archetypal symbols of our collective unconsciousness or universal shapes as symbols of people’s archaic thoughts, the initial signs inscribed on the walls of the Altamira cave. Jeremic's open form is a reflection of the unconscious process „structures like a language“ which, when presented in a composition with other forms is transformed into a conscious process, since the artist consciously combines sculptural signs in a row or composition. That would have been a paradox however all is allowed in art, therefore, a game with signs as well; various combinations of signs erase the borders between the conscious and unconscious creative process. Jeremic's signs at this exhibition move towards the mechanics of forms while searching for vitality. Namely, in the sculptural composition entitled „Ship“ Jeremic's signs present the illusion of a machine, or to be more exact algorithmic operations performed by computers. These open forms in stone are interconnected with each other, they are analogue bearing binary numbers, units and zeros, which exist in the basic construction of computers, in its integrated circuit. Jeremic's „machine“ introduces a story of the future: from Babbage's analytical machine which actually was the precursor of the contemporary computer designed to calculate four arithmetic operations using algorithmic operations to a computer which uses microprocessors thanks to which they have been reduced to the size of a calculator. Bearing in mind the model of Jeremic's sculptures – Moore's vitality which belongs to the past, and the meaning of the composition „Ship“ which personifies the future, we can open up the topic of the vitality of machines. The meaning of Jeremic's stone signs thereby move from the archetypal to algorithmic information, from the past towards the future. It is no accident that Ivan's sculptures are made of stone. Stone is a durable material which communicates over time. Even when standing on their own, these stone signs become a part of the „machine“ with the meaning of algorithmic signs. One could say that Jeremic's sign discourse if compared to his previous exhibition is moving towards the meaning of the future. According to the artist's own words, he envisions the future as a symbiosis of artificial intelligence and nature. It is not an apocalyptic vision of the future, but instead a humanistic vision.
He believes that we are on the brink of an ecological era and that we will return to nature. Bearing in mind the end of the rule of oil, people will be forced to use solar energy and all that nature can offer us, while machines will remain as a work tool. From that point the interpretation is then multifaceted: from Jeremic's stone signs and their dimension in time we find ourselves facing „Signs Along the Way“ and Andric's reflections on the passage of time: „The fact that everything passes is not the worst thing, instead, that we cannot and do not know how to come to terms with that simple and inevitable fact is.“ Therefore the story of stone signs turns into a story about the problem of interpretation, because a sign always has a number of meanings „just as one word can mean something completely different and can say more than we know about it.“
Nena Dakovic - Jovanovic
translated by Biljana Ackovski