New exhibition at GMK
Opening: Saturday, January 7th, 7:00 PM, GMK (Šubićeva 29)
Exhibition duration: Until January 25, 2025
Gallery hours: Tue–Fri: 4 PM – 8 PM / Sat: 10 AM – 3 PM
Free admission
Tvornica 2024 program has been supporting new artistic productions on the local scene for a decade. This year, following a public call, Valentina Butumović’s work Für alle, die Benzin im Blut haben was selected. As the title suggests, the work explores the connection between intimacy, decomposition, eroticism, reproduction, and oil—more specifically, petroleum derivatives that constitute the petrochemical industry. Kerosene, plastics, oils, varnishes, acetones, polyesters, and other materials, in their omnipresence and high usability, provoke ambivalent perceptions.
On one hand, they represent something unnatural, harmful to the environment and individuals, even repulsive. On the other hand, they create new forms of existence, continuously shaping a xenobiotic imaginary of the Anthropocene. Contradicting existing ecosystems, their presence is so strong that it dictates (micro)evolutions, creating entirely new phenomena. The artist examines the physical properties of petrochemical (semi)products by engaging all senses during interaction with the installation. The reflective black surface of oil, the strong smell of gasoline, the sticky texture of silicone, the pliable suds of detergent, the auditory tension of nylon, and the artificial taste of lip balm evoke a visceral impulse in the merging of the organic and synthetic.
Referencing theoretical concepts such as petrossexuality, plastisphere, and Bataille’s ideas of general economy, excess, and eroticism present in material transformation and perpetual consumption, the artist provokes thoughts on symbiosis with petroleum derivatives, their deep-rooted presence in everyday life, and their skillful imitation of the “natural.” Inspiration is also drawn from the tenets of theoretical fiction, such as Negarestani’s Cyclonopedia, where oil is depicted as an entity generating narratives due to its material genesis and societal impact. Translating the technical terminology of refining, analysis, and synthesis processes into a visual language of density, flow, viscosity, and transformation, the artist invites the audience to interpret layers of presence, tactility, and repulsiveness. Through a performative approach to text in the artist’s book and interactive installation design, the artist raises questions about coexistence and the decay of seemingly eternal substances, creating a xenopoetic linguistic and material laboratory that offers multiple interpretations.
Valentina Butumović. Born in 1994 in Pula, Valentina studied New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, continuing education at the Nida Art Colony in Lithuania and through an Erasmus+ exchange at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vilnius. Works have been exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions, focusing on the interaction between the organic and synthetic in the context of contemporary ecological challenges. Currently based in Berlin.
Artist: Valentina Butumović
Exhibition Title: Für alle, die Benzin im Blut haben
Sound Design: Nicolas Clerson
Curator: Maja Pavlinić
Producer: Tea Matanović
Vizual: Sara Paleković Preis
Production: Generator of Multidisciplinary Co-Productions (GMK)
Supported by: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb
GMK supported by: Kultura nova Foundation, INA d.d.