MARC STRAUS

Zlatan Vehabović‘s solo exhibition “TAMNO BIJELA ZEMLJA” will take place at Umjetnicki Paviljon Zagreb (Art Pavillion of Zagreb) from July 20th – September 2nd, 2018, featuring a new body of paintings created as a response to his time spent traveling the Arctic Sea during the artist residency program The Arctic Circle (2015). The curator of the exhibition and author of the text in the catalog is Branko Franceschi.

Artist Statement

Sometime during 2015 I have been informed of an artist residency program called The Arctic Circle. The program’s mission is aboard a tall ship Antigua, sailing the far north region of the polar Arctic Sea along the coastline of Svalbard archipelago sitting just bellow frozen polar cap. After applying I was granted a place to be included in the autumn expedition of 2016.

5 intense weeks followed made of sailing, regular disembarkation in uninhabited coastal areas of the vast archipelago, active mountain hiking, and touring abandoned residences and small towns in the region. I’ve documented this experience as thoroughly as I could, and have returned home with over 8,000 photos.

This material was crucial upon my return to studio back at home. After tiresome revision of entire recorded base I have divided the material into four separate groups, partly from the evident nature of the material and the rest by personal interests. These are: expedition, landscape, history / politics of the region and finally the ecological aspect of my experience of this extreme region.

By rearranging and superimposing different parts of recorded material I have made 30 templates to serve me as springboard for paintings to serve as coherent final product meditating on this vast experience. Final selection was made on 19 paintings titled Dark White Earth.