The Falseness of Holes

The Falseness of Holes takes as its starting point Medardo Rosso’s Portinaia (the Concierge), a bust from GAM's (Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milano) permanent collection. Portinaia serves as both guardian and guide to a number of hidden augmented reality environments inside the Sala del Parnaso. You are invited to follow Portinaia’s orders, enter through the portals she opens and explore a doctor’s clinic, a classroom, a desert and a decrepit lobby.

The Falseness of Holes is created for an exhibition with the same title by Berlin based artist Aleksandra Domanovic. The first iteration of the exhibition takes place at Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milano from 11th of November 2019 to January 6th 2020.

Aleksandra Domanovic works with sculpture, video and born-digital content. Guided by intensive research, her recent projects have explored the pioneering discoveries of women scientists and depictions of gender in science fiction. Her mining of the social and political histories of former Yugoslavia, her birthplace, has become a useful tool for interpreting the current European situation. 

Domanovic has updated examples of sculptural heritage from public monuments to Greek statuary. The block-like figures of her Votives series, while based on ancient Greek sculptures, are produced using 3D printing, computer-aided manufacturing and high-tech materials. The hands of these Votives refer to the “Belgrade Hand," one of the first responsive prosthetic hands, invented in 1963 by Serbian scientist Rajko Tomovic. This symbol of Yugoslav innovation has been re-imagined by Domanovic as a vital motif in her practice, including her 2013 film, “From yu to me”, which links Domanovic’s personal history to our increasingly technologically-reliant present.