Exhibition Neugenic, by artist Andreja Kargačin, was held as part of a collaboration between the Šok Zadruga Gallery from Novi Sad and the Vagon Gallery from Banja Luka. This exhibition marks the beginning of a long-term cultural exchange and joint artistic work between the two galleries.
The body as the central point of the research approach brings the field of questioning living and dying. And all that we know as control. Or as freedom? Andreja Kargačin in her exhibition Neugenic creates a meditative space for reflection on the belonging of the body by deconstructing the materials we discard during our lives. Through the use of materials that are often seen as discarded, worthless or impure – menstruation, urine, hair, nails – the artist radically redefines the concepts of purity and evolution. These biological materials, which represent the natural processes of the body, are in contrast to the sterile, idealized concepts that liberal eugenics offers. In this sense, the exhibition points to a paradox – while modern technology strives to create perfect beings, it forgets about the natural flow, changes, uncertainties and impurities that are an integral part of life. The body represents the only aspect of existence that is given to us and belongs to our power. Or do we try to make it so? Man and freedom. World and freedom. Life and freedom. Death and freedom. They never stand in the same sentence. Or in the same form. Reflecting the impression of discarded and old moving machines that elevate, adapt and help, Andreja Kargačin connects with man and his power to regenerate and renew, leaving an unstoppable mark. Materials that are already dead or discarded become a means to explore the question of what do we really possess and control as human beings?. Neugenic does not only deal with the topic of genetic modifications, but confronts us with fundamental questions of human nature and physicality.
