Zvoncica 2018

Editor: Dragan Ilić Di Vogo's "Zvoncica," created in 2018, presents a striking portrait in acrylic on canvas. I’m immediately struck by the contrast between the realism of the face and the surreal, almost dreamlike elements swirling around it. How do you interpret this work, especially considering the juxtaposition of familiar imagery with the unexpected? Curator: It's precisely that contrast which grabs my attention, too. The familiar image of Tinkerbell immediately places us within a very specific cultural narrative— childhood, Disney, innocence. But then look at how that imagery is destabilized, almost erupting from the subject's head in a chaotic and fragmented way. Consider what that juxtaposition might signify: the tension between idealized childhood memories and the more complex, perhaps even unsettling, realities of adulthood. The fairy-tale image becomes entangled with what appear to be darker or at least more ambiguous symbols and forms. What do those floating cubes or dark, hollow shapes evoke for you? Editor: They feel…disconnected, almost like thoughts or memories floating aimlessly. Is the artist suggesting that our idealized memories can be both comforting and a kind of prison? Curator: Perhaps. And that very tension – the push and pull between the known and the unknown, the idealized and the fragmented – is something we can see echoed in the tradition of surrealism, but also reaching back to alchemical and spiritual symbol systems where the inner world becomes an externalized landscape. It's like a waking dream, isn't it? Editor: Yes, I see that. It’s interesting how the artist uses recognizable figures to explore complex inner states. Curator: Indeed. And those contrasts offer space to contemplate the stories we tell ourselves. The personal and cultural memories we constantly reshape. Editor: This has definitely given me a richer understanding of the symbolic depth of this seemingly simple portrait. Curator: And I was reminded of how childhood imagery maintains such potent psychological power, even as it morphs with experience.