Damage and restoration (2024)

Site-specific instalation / concrete, asphalt, polyester, motors, plaster boards / 3400x1800x430mmx

Damage and restoration are phenomena present at different levels of reality - a damaged cell rebuilds its membrane, Jožica repairs her wrecked car, life on earth recovers after a catastrophic comet - to restore is to eliminate a lack and make something functional again. The work uses damage and reconstruction from three specific contexts: the natural, the technological and the museum. The starting point for linking these three contexts are fossils.

Fossil vegetation, in the form of raw material, enables some people, animals and plants to exist in a technological-modern life. Petroleum is the term for the refined remains of organic matter that store solar energy and have the capacity to convert it into chemical energy. Dead fossilised nature uses its nutrients to restore the functioning of the machines involved in the development of modern life on Earth. In addition to being a source of energy, fossils in the European context are often objects of contemplation in museums and function as reminders of iconic times of life on Earth. After excavation from sedimentary rock graves, animal remains in museums are placed in the context of an exhibit, which in turn means that their form must be preserved.

Time being frozen in museums means that the forms of the museum's content are not affected by the surroundings and remain the same from the day of the first exhibition. The wear and tear that damages objects in everyday life is eliminated in the museum and only through constant renewal will the forms of the museum content remain preserved. Intact forms have the capacity to function as works of art, to be used as objects of contemplation and education. In this way they differ, in this function they differ The museum, through the method of preservation or conservation, not only cuts the content off from its everyday surroundings, but also from its everyday function, and consequently from the use that damages its form. It turns it into a non-functional object, or a work of art that functions as an exhibit in a museum. In the artwork Damage and Restoration, the contextual method of the museum - the defunctionalisation of everyday life - is symbolised in the form of the cutting of machines. Machines cut into parts are difficult to rebuild due to their relatively complex composition. This damage renders them non-functional for everyday use: unable to perform their primary function. Scrapping cuts the machines off from their everyday use and turns them into works of art that function as museum exhibits.

The artwork depicts a wall set in the context of an archaeological site. Within the wall are excavations and layers representing the scene of the excavation of fossils from sedimentary rocks. The installation shows the scrap pieces of machinery as "fossils" found between layers of different materials (concrete, asphalt, polyester). The installation not only assigns natural roles to the industrial elements, but also emphasises the preservative power of the sedimentary rocks. Natural rocks preserve and archive the Earth's remains. They ensure that their forms are not imprinted by their surroundings, which could damage them. The depicted wall is therefore not a damaged part of a building that needs to be restored, but a museum that preserves works of preservation.