Studio-Phoenix Blogspot: Collective Zero: @ Gallery MC

Gorancho Gjorgjievski, Zero 3D, 2011.

For most of us here in the "states" September 8th is sort of a holiday. Its the day before all those who are in School, go back to school. For parents of the young, its quite a reason to raise glass(full of alcohol). However for those within the boarders of FYROM its independence day.

Igor Toshevski, Birds of prey, 2011

This year I was fortunate to be invited to Gallery MC for the show "Paperworks" by the group Collective Zero. It was a great way to mark their independence day, with political Art. Collective Zero is a somewhat radical group of 7 Macedonian's . The group was active from the mid 1980's, until the early 1990's. Looking at this from a historical point the group began when Yugoslavia(which included what is today the republic of Macedonia)was on the verge of break-up, and they disbanded after Macedonia declared independence. "During this short period they were an important representative of the Macedonian visual art scene, even outside of the borders of former Yugoslavia".

Gorancho Gjorgjievski, zero 3D, 2011

The group had an eventual reunion(a discourse on their individual work)in 2009 due to a retrospective exhibition at the National gallery of Macedonia. Later on as well their new work "The trailer files" was included at this years 54th international Biennale in Venice. "Paperworks" is a project based on numerous photographic material constituted during the preparations of "The trailer files", which are used as propositions which try to expand the definitions of photography, and its properties as a medium". Psychedelic, pop art and surrealism, all things that are the flow and feel of their work. "Paperworks", is grounded in political thought with a strong sense of abstract expressionism towards individual collectivism. The feelings their work provokes within you are amazement, wonder, fear, uncertainty, and curiosity. Paperworks touches on traditional, abstract somber thoughts, and story telling; a world filled with questions within riddles. A Macedonian version of Alice in wonderland(in their case Zeroland), but you, the viewer have become Alice, and at some point you realize you have come through their "Looking Glass". Theirs is world(their collective art) all its own, tinged with the uncertainty, and strange beauty, of nation seeking a future and an identity that is distant, but not so far as it once was in 1991. Collective Zero is, Miodrag Desovski, Aco Stankoski, Bedi Ibrahim, Zlaltko Trajkovski, Igor Toshevski, Sinisha Cvetkovski, and Gorancho Gjorgjievski. Video support for the group: Steven Shashkov. If you would like to know more:www.gallerymc.org "Art is the reason, art is the way". Article by K.K.W