Maja Vukoje

• 11.12.2009–16.01.2010

From December 11, 2009 to 16 January 16, 2010, Galerie Martin Janda is showing new work by Maja Vukoje.

Maja Vukoje’s new paintings address the themes glamour, elegance and (self-)representation. The large-format work Cinderella Favela (2009) depicts a figure in an opulent, pink robe in front of a shack. The ground is covered with litter, the dwelling humble. The person’s body language is proud and self-confident. At the same time she is diaphanous, her representation transparent; she is absent and present in equal degree. Maja Vukoje makes reference to self-dramatization as a socio-political gesture: “The sublime as the antithesis to the profane is a trait of much post-colonial phenomena that fascinates me, such as the artistic metamorphosis seen at the Caribbean Mardi Gras or in Congolese dandies from the slums of Brazzaville.”

10 Divas (2009), a mixed-media work, depicts legendary soul and bolero singers. The paintings explore how the persona is represented in the media, with a focus on gestures, movement and fashion, spanning from the 1960s to the present day. By grappling with “the other”, Vukoje seeks to illuminate the psycho-social function of affectation and an the significance of magic in contemporary image making.