Song for the Sea 2024
3 channel video installation plus one round projection on the floor.
The project came out of the idea to cure the sea, to make it feel better …so we created the song sang by Amira Medunjanin, a very know Sevdah singer, who carries in her voice the tone from ancient times in combination with contemporary music, and carried on the images of planktons filmed and found in the sea by a 12 year old boy Vanja from Split.
This poem was created out of the desire to give the sea back its creative energy, to console it, to embrace it, but also to remind humanity of how the sea is the beginning of life, how it is essential for our ecosystems to exist.
more, more, more ( the sea, the sea, the sea) 2022
2. LED Flex Neon, indoor, blue
Inscription stating “more, more, more” in lowercase script.
the inscription is 1, 20 m.
The neon more, more, more can be read in Croatian, and be translated as “the sea, the sea, the sea”, but it can also be read in English as “more, more, more”, denoting the meaning of “more” in terms of quality and quantity. It’s a desirable word play for this combination, since it gives a whole new layer to the inscription.
The sea and the theme of maritime migration are central to my recent works, with the current violent and pernicious migrations across the Mediterranean making the theme of the sea ever more present and politically active.
Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by COCA.
Renata Poljak
Croatia
Renata Poljak has presented her work in numerous national and international solo exhibitions, film festivals, and biennials, and is the recipient of numerous prestigious fellowships and awards. Her residencies include stays at the San Francisco Art Institute, MuseumsQuartier in Vienna, Art In General in New York, and Cité Internationale des Arts and Récollets in Paris. A selection of artist's films and video works has been independently screened at the Centre Georges Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo in Paris. For years, her work has focused on exploring the phenomenon of human migration and its physical and emotional consequences, particularly in her four recent films: "Partenza" (2016), "Yet Another Departure" (2018), "Porvenir" (2020), and "Split" (2021). The last three premiered at the Oberhausen Film Festival. "Porvenir" won six awards at film festivals. Her works can be found in numerous museum and private collections.