Bio
Tatjana Jovančević was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the republics in former Yugoslavia. While she was an exchange student in the USA the war broke out in her homeland, and she ended up staying to finish her schooling. She currently resides in Kikinda, Serbia. Tatjana earned the BFA in Visual Communication from Northern Illinois University.
Art making has been a part of Tatjana’s life as far as she can remember–her father saved her first drawing from when she was two years old. Her main passion remains putting down marks on paper, but throughout the years she crossed over to other media as well
Her work includes works on paper site-specific interventions. Her art is influenced by the effects of being an individual from a war-torn country, loss of place of belonging, finding of the lost identity as well as by reflection on inner landscapes of psyche. She started exhibiting publicly in 2009 and since then she had one solo exhibiton two two-person shows as well as group shows including LUZ Artspace/Beverly Hills, Royal Scottish Academy/Edinburgh, Scotland, Cultivator/Chicago, Woman Made Gallery/Chicago, Portage ARTspace/Chicago, Calvin College/IL, Olivet Nazarene University/IL etc.
Statement
My art speaks of things I have a hard time talking about. As an individual from a war-torn country I delve into the themes of detachment, seeking of true home, lost sense of identity, and pursuit of belonging and reconciliation. These themes are intertwined with narratives of the tensions between light and dark, good and evil, and heavens and earth. I try to address the ephemeral nature of life and our relatively short time occupying the continuum. Be it in my site-specific interventions in the environment, works on paper or fiber work, I attempt to point to transcendental.
Creative process is a continuous conversation between my inner landscape and what the outer landscape offers in return. Travelling inside my thoughts, experiences and feelings, I’m trying to reach territories, some still unclaimed and almost beyond reach. Similar to the land, there are places that are high and low, soft and hard, fluid and rigid, dark and light. By exploring these I’m trying to make connection with my viewer and ask questions, Why are we here? What is beyond? What of pain—can it be transmuted to something beautiful? It’s also an attempt to have an intimate conversation with the viewer, drawing them into my work, while possibly drawing them out.
By making art I give thanks for the talent I’m striving to steward, reciprocating the gift of an opportunity to create. In the end there is a sense of redemption. Idea and feelings are given a physical presence and new life, and so is the artist.
