JELENA KRSTIC - STATEMENT

THE SOUND OF A SILENCE

In the process of working on the new series of paintings, The Sound of a Silence, I was interested in finding the most direct way to respond to the mass of inner movements, to that chaotic mass of sensations and images that reflect one's emotional turmoil, its delicacy and its forcefulness. The main theme of the exhibition revolves around the questions of one's existence and its complexities within the ongoing presence of a destruction and violence in the lives of individuals and societies. These questions are elements which constitute the challenge in finding a personal meaning within the world as it is.

I consider the act of creation as a necessity on many different levels - in order for the I to be, to survive, to indulge in a pure aesthetic pleasure, to reshape itself, to acquire a form. A form that carries the story of the life, outlining that which defines the self. Fascination with one's inner life is the leitmotif in my creative work.

The images, sounds and movements are in a continuos process of self creation/recreation. They emerge, burst through the borders which seemingly separate different realities. They come out, because they desire to. Through a creative process they are captured in an instant, in their most true to the self moment. They are a glimpse into the very raw self. Into the hidden. Into the most intimate. These images, sounds and movements demand nothing else, but to simply be; affirming the existence and the meaning of the self. In their essence, they are self-sufficient and self-necessary.

The auditory sensation of a silence is of a profound nature. It brings the whole spectrum of a being into the most focused state. For that one instant, everything ceases to exist, except this focused, unwavering attention. This silence is dense. It is post-verbal. It announces that which will emerge from the chaos of sensations. It resonates with the essence of all that is to emerge. A symphonic poem. In this sense, the silence is the most organized and instinctively perceived form of music.

Jelena Krstic, September 10, 2008,
Exhibition The Sound of a Silence, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts

__________________________

RHYTHM
Rhythm is a movement, natural flow inside one's self. Rhythm evokes the sound. Life is enveloped into the sound. The sound intensifies color, taste, sensibility and depth of life. It stirs up memories, sensations, dreams. Since it has abstract qualities, it easily reaches the most distant areas of a human existence. Through the process of creation, these emotional tides gain value of a universal experience.

CREATIVE STATE
Creative state reveals the channel into the unknown space, unknown in the sense of its non structured form. That space contains the elements of a dream. The process of creation is the voyage to / from the abstract form of a mind / emotional self. Creating a work of art is a process of a profound personal revelation, which consumes the whole spectrum of a human being. Finally, it is a liberating process, during which the concepts of the time and limitations are reevaluated. Through a creative process, one becomes not only one with the work and inner self, but with the very essence of a mystical nature of the life.

THE NEED TO CREATE
The need to create keeps an inquisitive mind restless, supplying it with a tool to address fundamental questions in a powerful and direct way; the meaning of the life, human suffering, pain, isolation, survival, interrelation with the other. This question of the meaning is what interests me the most in my work. The urge to apply to the creative experience, to that which was communicated inside oneself a physical body, is a driving force of my work.

WORKING IN SERIES
I work in series of paintings, which explore one emotional state, one experience, over and over again, as the capacity to understand and grasp the source of an emotional catalyst has been expanded. I keep on working on the same series, until I have fully merged with the essence of the work, until I am fluent with its metamorphoses, its voices, its emotional power. Creative process is about the strength to see clearly that which is faced in the most direct way and to record it without any sentiment or fear.

A HUMAN FACE
A face that constantly changes and whose changes are endless. A face that exists and doesn't exist. A face that doesn't belong to anyone and belongs to all. I understand it as the face of the emotional self. Art has the power to expose. It provokes and it heals. It is about inner growth and subsequently inner freedom. Art is about a mystery and is the mystery itself. Each time I paint or write, I feel as if I am touching this mystery for the first time, with the same excitement, same curiosity.

HARMONY
The process of creation is pure, simple and direct. It is about harmony. Color is the sound. Line, verse and punctuation consist of a range of rhythmic and dynamic values. Each letter is a key. Work of art is a diary entry. When I hear verses, I write. When the images move inside myself, I paint. What I paint is what I see and that is what is important to me, to be true to one's vision.

Jelena Krstic, 2004

back to top | home