mladen miljanovic

Installation view at MUMOK-Vienna I 2010 I Photo Eva Würdinger

Engine cover, two photos

«Land for Sale» is a work which was created «by accident», i.e. it is a replica of a real object located by the Doboj – Banja Luka trunk road, in a place called Klašnice. That object is an engine cover, which an unknown seller used to advertise his land for sale, which I photographed with my mobile phone as I was passing by.

When it comes to this work of art, I suggest several possible ways to read it, as well as several reasons why it is a part of this exhibition:

a) This work deals with the relation between the aura of a locality and other, different readings outside it, leading to the conclusion art is conditioned by the context of the space it originated in and can be observed objectively only within it.

b) The motivation for this work is concealed in the metaphorical relation towards the process of transition from the state-owned (national) to the privately-owned (international).

c) This work is a real estate advertisement.

d) This work is on display only because it incorporates an engine cover taken from a car whose make is the subject of this exhibition.

e) It was necessary to fill the exhibition space.

f) The person selling the land is an artist.