The One who Defends Flowers conceptualy begins from the anthroponymic root of my birth name (Branka – braniti = to defend, Cvjetičanin – cvijet = flower), moving toward an artistic inquiry about fragility, disappearance, and transcendence. Further, I am following a cultural entomology as well as eco-feminist thought on the relationship with Nature, raising awareness on consequences of human actions upon it and of the embedded narrative constructs used to dominate it, alongside the ongoing and continuously deepening ecological crisis driven by potent capitalism, a militant economy, armed conflicts, and persistent wars.
The micro-geography of Krbavsko Polje, in the Lika region of Croatia, becomes a space for wandering and recording spontaneous artistic acts. This performative gesture functions like a diary note—an attempt to move beyond the layers of “he-stories” embedded within geo-psychological narratives.
In sequence, I repeatedly toss a large, round, golden, reflective canvas into the air, attempting to “place the sun in the sky.” The action is simple, almost banal, yet persistently repeated, intentionally stripped of spectacle and any definitive outcome. After completing the performative act, I extract several frames from the video and present them as fixed situations, even though they originated as events unfolding in time. This approach opens a space for reflecting on failure, the limits of intention, and the tension between the act of framing an image and the uncontrollable conditions of Nature.
„The One who Defends Flowers“ till now is exhibited at following exhibitions
:It’s Too Late to Give Up: On the History of Feminist Performance in Croatia – Kapitalocen vs. “The Earth Is Our Lover!, Museum of the City of Zagreb, Currators: Suzana Marjanić, Maja Pavlinić, Zvonimir Dobrović, Time: March 14 – April 6, 2025, LINK
:Natura Po-Etica, MSU – Muzej suvremene umjetnosti, Zagreb, Currators: Suzana Marjanić, Nataša Ivančević, 03.03. – 24.05.2026, LINK