Exhibition "The rotten smell is you"

Artists:

Kristina Bajilo, Nikola Balberčakova, Sofija Đovanoti, Đejmi Hadrović, Aja Janković, Working group Merlinka (Pavle Banović, Marija Iva Gocić, Lea Rivka Lapiover, Sara Pantović, Kloe Sasi), Milica Mijajlović Živković, Penny Kay, Jessica Stoja, Zuzana Svatik

Curator: Jelisaveta Rapaić

*At the exhibition opening, a pole dance performance lecture by Aja Janković will be performed starting at 7:30 pm

The second presentation of the exhibition The rotten smell is you, realized in collaboration with the Cultural Center of Belgrade, brings certain changes compared to its first realization at Kunsthalle Bratislava (5.9-16.10.2023). Artistic positions are carefully adapted to include additional geographies and histories to emphasize the void that arises within the local context. The new edition of the exhibition is also a direct reaction and urgency to respond to the growing sympathies and ambiguities related to the rise of right-wing movements in 2024. By exploring and uncovering internal disagreements and generational gaps within the feminist movement, this exhibition examines the essential issues of appropriation by the right and mirror worlds, post-truth, and conspiracy theories. However, The rotten smell is you builds a unique narrative, merging different experiences and perspectives to analyze the rift between third and fourth wave feminists, most commonly observed through the discourse of transgender identity, sex work, and hyper-femininity.

*In her recent book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Naomi Klein defines the term Mirror World describing our destabilized present full of doppelgangers and confusion; where extreme right-wing movements express declarative solidarity with the working class; AI-generated content blurs the line between real and fake; New Age entrepreneurs turned anti-vaxxers still challenge our familiar political allegiances; while many of us project our carefully curated digital doubles in the realm of social media.