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, Peni Kej, Jessica Stoja, Zuzana Svatik

Curator: Jelisaveta Rapaić

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

The second presentation of the exhibition The rotten smell is you, realized in collaboration with the Belgrade Cultural Center, brings certain changes compared to its first realization at Kunsthalle Bratislava (5.9-16.10.2023). The artistic positions have been carefully adapted to include additional geographies and histories, in an effort to emphasize the emptiness that appears within the local context. The new edition of the exhibition also emerges as a direct reaction and an urgency to respond to the growing sympathies and uncertainties 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 central issue of appropriation by the right and mirror worlds*, post-truth and conspiracy theories. However, The rotten smell is you builds a unique narrative, combining different experiences and perspectives to analyze the division between third and fourth wave feminists, often observed through discourse on transgender issues, sex work, and hyper-femininity.

*In her recent book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Naomi Klein defines the concept of the mirror world (Mirror World) describing our destabilized present full of doubles 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 continue to shatter our familiar political allegiances; while many of us project our carefully curated digital doppelgangers in the realm of social media.