Udruga za razvoj audio-vizualne umjetnosti
10/10 2022
The focus of the project ‘Catharsis’ is a specific form of applied psychoanalysis through the introspection of men. In this project, men of different ages are invited to collaborate with the author through a pre-arranged process in which they choose one experienced event that has been etched into the archive of their memory and gradually psychologically immerse themselves in it. While the individual evokes the chosen event and relives that experience in his stream of thought, the author documents the session as a portrait and documentation of this starting point. Later, inspired by these reawakened emotions, the individual carries out a practical process of expressing his thoughts towards that chosen experience through a technique and format of his own choice, while channeling his relationship to that memory and its influence on him. In this way, the participants become co-authors of the project whose works remain as documents of an intimate moment and expression. They catalyze this process on an emotional-psychological level, opening up the possibility of reinterpreting the lived experience. Moreover, the ultimate goal of this collaboration between the author and the participants lies precisely in the materialization of their introspection: the cyclical establishment of relationships – with oneself, with the author of the concept, and finally with the audience.
Toni Mijač is a film and multimedia artist born in 1988 in Split, Croatia. He gained a bachelor’s degree in Film and Video at the Art Academy in Split and a master’s degree in New Media Art at the Fine Arts Academy in Zagreb. He worked on numerous conceptual, cinematographic, and commercial projects, also having collaborative experience in local and international workshops, festivals and residencies across Croatia, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and The United Kingdom. He was the author of seven solo exhibitions and participated with his work in eleven group exhibitions in galleries such as HDLU, Klovićevi dvori, MSU, NMG@Praktika, GMK, Greta, Pogon Jedinstvo and KSET. In his artistic work, he predominantly deals with everyday impulses in different areas of human life which he explores using the language and expressive tools of various media forms such as film, video, text, installation, performance, photography and social/community practices. His most notable work as yet was ‘Connection Is/Not Possible’ which was awarded with the public’s vote on the HT Contemporary Art Award in Zagreb in 2018 and also received the jury’s 2nd award for best artwork on the GRISIAyouth exhibition in Rovinj in 2018. In 2020, he was chosen as one of the artists in residency for the MagiC Carpets / LAB 852 / Meta Cultural Foundation program. In 2021, he was the finalist for the Golden Watermelon award.