Poetry in photography

When I see the exhibited photos of Ivana Stojaković, as the curator of the "Bentara Budaja" gallery, I generally express my interest immediately. These works speak only on the strength of their visual elements. One would say that he was enchanted by the arrangement of artistic elements that build a coherent whole. Another would admit that he was surprised by the flash of imagination that was captured in an instant, through the objects presented. A third would call it not a "good photographic work", but a photograph that has turned into a work of art with a strong expression. Those impressions become more complete when you scroll through the work and artist information. In short, we are pleased to present Ivana's works at one of our venues, namely Bentara Budaya Gallery, Jakarta on August 19 and 25, 2009. The works of this artist, of Serbian origin, who has been living and working in Bandung for the past two years, a rich and varied artistic expression. are ready to be presented to the Indonesian public. Ivana fluently uses photography to convey her artistic ideas and concepts, transforming what should be obvious from the camera's eye into scenes that can be stunning, unique, memorable or dreamlike, feel familiar but at the same time refuse to be recognized as a part of everyday life. This is what was immediately noticed from the series of photographs called "Vašar", "Self-Portrait" and "Cage". We hope that this "Scenting" art exhibition will also emphasize that the field of art is still wide open for endless exploration, no matter what equipment and technology you use. Seeing it only as a work of photography will give us beauty, but if we look behind the displayed images, we will be enriched by the adventure of reading signs, images, exciting interpretations and feeling the power of poetry.

Efik Muliadi
Photographer and gallery curator Bentara Budaya