Deja Mar

Usually, when I speak about my collages I address them as ‘my gardens’. These gardens are maybe a reflection of my thoughts, emotions, memories, but I think mostly intellectual freedom.


With collages I can escape, I can still believe in beauty and freedom, I can be anywhere I want, travel through my imagination and share that with others.

My collage art practice started in 2008 and thought many years I’ll explore different problems, materials, approaches, only in 2013 I’ll make more than 300 works trying to find my voice. But all of the time, I would keep those works only for me, so this platform gives me the pleasure to explore life of every work that I create, to find out that something I enjoy could be enjoyment of the others too, to be involved and present in this field and be proud of my ability to create something that people would hang on their walls.


For me as an artist collage is an important mental practice and as much as I’m working in this area I am always able to surprise myself and find something new. On the other hand, it is a form of writing; it is honest, intimate, and wise because only if it’s wise, minimalistic artwork can work.

What interests me most in my exploration is the purity of the material, and usually, that’s paper, I tend to be conservative in work, not mixing, not adding, not manipulating with something that’s not organically connected, so mostly you can see a paper on paper collage. The other main part of the practice is color, sometimes it is vivid, recently I was trying to limit myself with 6 colors that I don’t really think of as most beautiful and try to make it work, but you can also see some sophisticated works made of perfect balance with just a colored element or not colored at all. This is happening because the change of your moods is happening, sometimes it’s inexplicable, sometimes you fall in love and world suddenly starts looking intense and challenging, you start building walls to protect it from contamination, who knows, but as long as you feel comfortable everything is perfect, so keep going.


As you read, this is personalized, and that is also how you should communicate with my work.
Thank you!
Deja

BFA, Academy of Fine Arts, Belgrade

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2017 “The good wife”, Cultural Center Banski dvor, Banjaluka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

2017 “The good wife”, BPM & UNILIB, Belgrade

2016 “The artist is dead”, Cultural Center GRAD, Belgrade

2011 “Japan”, Gallery of Modern Art, Lazarevac (Belgrade)

2008 “Body language”, manifestation ISKON, Pozega



SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2018 “Almost Resistance”, U10 gallery, Belgrade

2017 “Regional Salon”, City gallery, Uzice

2017 “DOBA OBNOVE”, gallery Reflektor, Uzice

2017 “Borderland esc”, City gallery Uzice

2017 “BelgradePhotoMonth”, Galerija opstine Vracar, Belgrade

2017 “DIFFERENT WORLDS”, CEHOP, Bratislava, Slovakia

2017 “DIFFERENT WORLDS”, Viltin gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2016 “DIFFERENT WORLDS”, Photon gallery, Vienna, Austria

2016 “DIFFERENT WORLDS”, Photon gallery & Kino Siska, Ljubljana, Slovenia

2016 “DIGITALBIGSCREEN”, Delavski dom, Trbovlje, Slovenia

2016 “RETHink Art Digital Festival”, Act&Art Productions, Rethymno, Greece

2016 “OFF THE WALL I video art“, Arts + Literature Laboratory, Madison, USA

2016 “Methodologies, deconstruction of identity” Cultural Center GRAD, Belgrade

2015 “sTERORtipi”, Queer salon, Cultural Center GRAD, Belgrade

2014 “stART”, Gallery “Svetozar Markovic”, Belgrade

2014 “Mulafoco”, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Uruguay

2013 “Mediterranea 16 – Errors Allowed”, Progres Gallery – Belgrade

2011 “Those who coming“ - City Gallery, Uzice

2011 “Š.U.N.D.“ International Festival of Student Work – ArtCentar, Belgrade