Vlasta Žanić
Zatvaranje (Closure), 2002
video
MG-6841a
Vlasta Žanić (b. 1966) is a Croatian visual artist who graduated in Sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1990. Her practice is marked by a minimalist approach and an exploration of the relationships between form and space, as well as symbolic and psychological dimensions. In her early work, she addressed sculptural problems using movement in kinetic installations to evoke the idea of the permanence of change. These sculptural foundations often serve as a conceptual basis for her work in other media, including performance, video performance, and video works. In these pieces, Žanić addresses socially imposed stereotypes, the fragile boundary between construction and (self)destruction, and the perception of space.
Closure is her first performance, realised in 2002 at the opening of the exhibition Powerlessness in Galerija Karas, Zagreb. In this performance, Žanić appears before the audience wearing a white coverall punctured with holes, each edged with the threaded rims of glass jars. She proceeds to close the holes by screwing on jar lids, symbolically “sealing herself,” thereby interrupting the flow of energy and creating a metaphor for emotional and physical self-erasure. The coverall with holes represents vulnerability and openness to the outside world, while the act of closing them with lids becomes a gesture of defence and withdrawal. The artist explores her own fragility and the instinct for self-protection. Within the context of socially imposed expectations and stereotypes, Žanić confronts her self-perception and her role in society. The performance interrogates the boundaries between public and private, inner and outer, construction and destruction.
Text: Marta Radman, curator of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Marta Radman
Still Image from the Vlasta Žanić's Zatvaranje (Closure) video from 2002 - from the National Museum of Modern Art's Archives