INTERVIEW WITH DEJAN KLEMENT
-by Justina Špeirokaité (Curator at Improper Walls)
Places We Love
by Ivan V. Lalić
Places we love exist only through us,
Space destroyed is only illusion in the constancy of time,
Places we love we can never leave,
Places we love together, together, together, (...)
In summer 2021, I had the pleasure to meet Dejan Klement, an artist based in Uzice, Serbia.
Later in September, his artwork DESCRIPTION OF THE SEA BY MEMORY was presented in the group show Hospitable Utopia Vienna ed. in our gallery space.
With the artwork, Dejan Klement is walking around the question “what is home?” and arriving at the PLACES WE LOVE. The artwork which he started during his visit to Vienna.
PLACES WE LOVE is an ongoing video series of people describing the place they love in their own languages and preferred setups.
After publishing the first three episodes in our Improper Dose, it is time to get to know the artist mind behind the concept idea of the DESCRIPTION OF THE SEA BY MEMORY and PLACES WE LOVE.
Who are you in the words which describe your art?
I'm a lonesome philosopher always hungry for breathtaking views. Someone who tends to elevate everyday scenes, narratives, feelings, struggles... in relevant artistic topics. No matter if I'm in front or behind the camera, you will always see my melancholy playing the main role. I'm known but completely undiscovered. I'm a poet that tries to write unexplainable. I'm trying to be intellectual with an extremely fetishized body just for fun. I'm someone who thinks that the people are the best tourist destination. Master of rediscovering, reading between the lines. I'm an open book that excites you, but you always leave it for some other time, a special moment that never comes. I'm a beautifully crafted tragedy. I'm a paradox.
Your artwork “DESCRIPTION OF THE SEA BY MEMORY” questions the concept of home, while “PLACES WE LOVE” tells the stories of belonging. Why are home, place, and belonging important topics for you?
I love those questions because I don't have an answer. It would be boring working on topics that make you feel safe and comfortable. My parents divorced when I was 4, and we moved a lot after that, so I never had a base. It took many years for me to realize that the whole world is my home. So I allow myself to find a home in a lover, book, evening with friends, my art, everything everywhere I go. But you can also say that if someone belongs anywhere and to anyone he is nowhere and nobody's. Exactly this provocativeness is why I'm so obsessed with the two works you mentioned.
The places we know exist only in us vs. Places we love exist only in us. Both sentences are inspired by the poem by Serbian poet Ivan V. Lalić and are the basis of both artworks. But do we love all the places we know?
Last year I bought for my mother a collection of poetry by Ivan, it's her favorite poet. I found inside - ‘Description of the sea by memory’ and ‘Places we love’, not having an idea that I'll later use it in this context. In one of my poems, I write some similar theory - Places we love are the places we feel loved. If we put aside the poetic beauty of these statements, of course, it's not that simple question. We create spaces, places, universes, alone or with others; that is something I deeply believe to be true. Do we love it? It depends on how much we want to use our creative control and how much we are open to receiving. People are often afraid of beauty and freedom. Beauty because it is not going to last forever, and freedom because it comes with responsibility and it's often a one-way ticket. If we choose to risk and make radical cuts, we can end up in wonderful but also horrifying places, and we are not always ready for that, deciding to stay prisoners of our fears of the unknown. Now the main question for us is a basic philosophical question, is it better to regret something bad that happened or not try at all?!
Season 1 of “PLACES WE LOVE” includes nine stories by nine different people. How have (if) it shifted your own perception of the connection to places? Or redirected your research in some ways?
I feel blessed to have had this experience so far. It's a brilliant process. I came to Vienna to present work in Improper Walls without any idea that I'll come back to Serbia with completely new work, a whole season of series born and made there in less than one month. I'm grateful that I had so much openness and trust around me and that these beautiful people allowed me to capture and show their stories. The main feeling I have from the beginning is how our generation feels lost in a way, how it is hard to define things, identify, belong. I learn a lot about others, but at the same time, I learn a lot about myself through this reflection. Every time you ask someone new to participate, you have some idea what they will choose to do, where it could be filmed, maybe even what the story will be, and it is fun how wrong every time I was. You truly can't predict anything, and that is exciting.
What are you working on at the moment? When can we expect more of your artwork published or exhibited?
When I came back to Serbia, I continued filming, and I'm currently finishing the second season that will start in April. I'm already thinking about some residency for filming season 3. As for other activities and plans, I put everything aside and dedicate all my time to creating, I don't want to endanger this energy and passion that I feel at the moment, and I learned from experience that in the end, everything comes to its place. No matter how radical and harsh the current environment looks, I truly hope it reminds us how precious every moment is, how fragile we are, and how important it is to use our time for things and people that fulfill us, helping us to grow and be the best version of ourselves.
Anything you would like to add?
Yes. I would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who has had something to do with the Places we love. Your gallery for being the birthplace for this idea, 14 people I have filmed so far, but also everyone who watched and sent feedback, ones who helped during filming with advice but also ones that only listened to me thinking out loud. Love you guys!