Exhibition Information

Upon entering the main gallery, the installation confronts the viewer with a life-size x-ray simulation of a delivery vehicle filled with figures symbolizing illegal passengers. The work focuses on the human body as an obscure form, devalued into an abstraction that is rapidly losing value in the context of today’s world viewed through the lens of technology.

Kovacevic explores images, events, and scenarios in which illegal immigrants are screened and mistreated. The concept of disregard for individual life addresses the notion of the end of privacy exemplified by security inspections, body scans, and X-rays of personal possessions in both everyday life and times of unrest. The work raises questions around issues associated with human trafficking, where the body becomes an abundant commodity that can be exploited for profit or can be used as a weapon and means or spreading diseases.

On December 5, the exhibition will be enhanced by a Hi-Tech Virtual Reality component simulating a traumatic experience in the life of anonymous immigrants being smuggled in a vehicle. Kovacevic explains, “The Virtual Reality 360 Experience allows the viewer to experience a few moments in the life of an illegal immigrant traveling without air, room to move, food or water together with 53 other immigrants in a small van. This simulation or reenactment together with other works exhibited is based on actual media reports. The vehicle ends in an accident by crashing the van resulting in one fatality and most of the others injured.”

Kovacevic’s installation provides a visual platform characterized by the use of cutting edge technologies to emphasize problems with dehumanization. The austere digital aesthetic contrasts with the raw reality of social conflict and upheaval. Marko Lađušić, Professor at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, Serbia said, “Through the analysis of visual elements, the author creates work that is not constrained by a particular format and possesses a powerful message of monumentality in the monstrosity of contemporary social processes.”

About Blazo

Blazo Kovacevic (b. Podgorica, Montenegro) obtained his MFA in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and his BFA in painting from the University of Montenegro. He received numerous awards and recognition, and his work has been shown in both Europe and the United States in solo as well as in group exhibitions. Kovacevic is currently Assistant Professor of Art and Design at Binghamton University (SUNY) and Art Director of the Binghamton University Art Museum.