CANONATRA # 2

I have begins my research in the field of tradition, dealing with one of the most important aspects of applied arts within the domain of cultural heritage – the rug. The aesthetics of the handmade rug is connected to the tradition of the Balkan people displayed through motifs, form and shapes of national ornaments. Today, apart from a higher level of consciousness regarding the importance of cultural heritage, we can also come across misinterpretations, even vulgar glorification of national tradition in an unnecessary and conservative comparison with contemporary visual art. Disregarding all risks brought in by the sensitivity of the subject matter, I begins my visual research in a field marked and defined by three things: firstly – by rigid canons of traditions which dictate rules and precision in the production of rug ornaments; secondly – by precious personal emotional memories of my grandmother as a keeper of natra canons in my own family, and thirdly – by the burden of xenophobic self-identification of cultural heritage with patriotic feelings of national belonging. Into such a sensitive field, defined by science, family history, and popular quasi-patriotism, I boldly introduces a glitch, playing with canons of tradition and its "analog" language, opposing and confronting it with the language of digital media, spoiling and deforming the expected traditional image.