Maja Bajevic: Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zahnradstrasse, Zurich

“Space and Time” is a double projection, shown on the front and the reverse of a projection screen in a dark room. Upon entering the room, at first only one film is visible. The first video shows a close-up of an alarm clock. It is a quarter past six, but the red second hand is stuck and only moves between 0 and 1. In the second video, we can see train tracks in a big city. This sequence was filmed at a distance, from a bridge and with a fixed camera position. It is dusk. A dramatic soundtrack was composed especially for this shoot, though there is hardly any movement visible within the image. When a train finally arrives at a very low speed and people get on it, the resulting scene of everyday life stands in stark contrast to the soundtrack.

 

With her exceptional installation, “Space and Time“, Maja Bajević has created a still life of the daily routine. She presents the fragmentation of concepts such as time and space. In the installation, everyday objects like the alarm clock do not represent time, but instead symbolise the space that can emerge between two seconds. Time does not matter anymore. By contrast, the arrival of the train becomes a symbol of a breakthrough in time. Through these two expressive images, Maja Bajević leads us into an exciting scenario for which the spectators themselves might imagine an ending.

 

The journeys, often relating to migration, and the time factor are two of the main themes underlying Maja Bajevićʼs work. The same applies to her work "En Attendant". On the floor close to the wall, we can make out a piece of grass riddled with worms and with the artistʼs footprints in it. The artist wrote the following text on the wall with a pencil: Sometimes I want to scream, run, sleep…Sometimes I think that I donʼt know anything. And I feel better.And then I think maybe I could go away somewhere,to, so to say, run away, why not?My legs are the fastest in running, my hands two weather vanes, scatterbrains, my head a balloon, and my legs?Not bad at all for runaways, so to say, they were made for it.And then I think…But I have been standing too long, and the earth has already gotten used to the shape of my feet.

 

The final work is a video installation, displayed on a monitor, called “Hereʼs looking at you, Kid". This piece revolves around many of the questions asked within Maja Bajevićʼs work. As a kind of performance, the artist stands in front of the camera and covers her face with black paint. Two fat tears are visible – a clownish and very touching moment. The artist created this work just after the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-1995).

 

Maja Bejevic is one of the most important artists from Sarajevo. Today she lives in Paris and Berlin. During the last few years she has been invited to the Istanbul and Venice Biennials, as well as to the Documenta. Maja Bajević will hold a solo exhibition in Kunsthaus Glarus in September 2009, curated by Sabine Rusterholz. In this context she will create a new series of works called "Roadmovie". Last year, her first extensive monography of the years 1995 to 2007 was published, containing an interview with Angela Vettese and an essay by Lynne Cooke.