On Board Were the Twelve

Assuming that 12 selected emissaries from Atlantis survived the downfall in other places, Vanja Smiljanić develops a concrete manifestation of the speculatively fluid construct of a possible history at the artothek. ‘What could be if?’ is a fundamental question in this context.

In a sequence of eight paintings, the survivors of Atlantis appear, mounted on platforms, forming a long procession across the artothek space. Alongside the ancient deities, the poet, the doctor, the farmer, the scientist and the magician appear as (time) travellers aboard boats, a submarine and a flying spaceship/airplane. They appear physically in the paintings for the duration of the exhibition, making speculations about Atlantis tangible in a parallel world of possibilities. Vanja Smiljanić uses the opportunity to give this fantastical construct her own stamp. Questions about marine ecology and the coexistence of different, fluid species are addressed, as are reflections on an ideal society.
Formally, Smiljanić takes up the very original tradition of ritualised movement through public space, including religious processions and political demonstrations. It was and still is a powerful instrument of protest and resistance, making marginalised groups visible and serving as a medium for telling stories and history.