Chair for Gheorghe Doja (with Nicolae Velicov), 2019
recyclable materials (wood, metal, cloth) with wooden resistance structure, 1600 x 300 x 80 cm
production: Transborder project, European Echoes / Consulart #2 organized by Diplomatic Art Association, Timisoara, Romania
curator: Aura Balanescu
Organized by the Diplomatic Art Association within the program Timisoara 2021 – European Capital of Culture, the project European Echoes / Consulart #2 (2019) brought together the two neighboring countries, Romania and Serbia, through the sensitive connection of artists Branislav Nikolic from Belgrade and Nicolae Velciov from Timisoara. Artists were invited to creatively interpret the cultural heritage starting from the specifics of a given place, Gheorghe Doja Park located near the Serbian Consulate. Obviously, the two communities have common historical events, such as the Multiethnic Peasant Uprising conducted by Gheorghe Doja (1514), which led, through a European effort, to the removal of a dark Middle Age in favor of the formation of modern society. In the same way, the artwork Transborder, through a character of collaboration between artists, but also of active public participation, reiterated the idea of overcoming the limits of obsolete worlds, expressed through the fragmentary privileged point of view. Thus, the foundation of a globalizing reality is created through the multiple points of view that abolishes any frontier and, in this case, the representation of the torture chair that led to the martyrdom of Gheorghe Doja turned into a route that spectators were invited to walk.
Aura Bălănescu, curator