Nikolina Komljenović: The Thin Line

Space is defined as universal, empty, in which the meaning is inscribed in front of the viewer and is established by the act of performance. It is divided into the INTERNAL SPACE of the subject, the BOUNDARIES BETWEEN the inner and outer space - the membrane of the body, the skin, which is bounded and maintained by thin lines in the air and the OUTER SPACE which is formed beyond the boundary of the body by performance itself. The body is a subject in space. It is a statement under the pressure of a physical expression that the reality of survival in the air with the help of thin lines always returns to the common space of performance. The body boundary and support line construct, change and deconstruct spaces and contents throughout the performance ad are open for interpretation. The trail that remains at the end of the performance by going through the transparent nylon threads reminds us of the responsibility of our own actions. To make visible the processes of marking, constituting and occupying space in this case of the female body which is the central place of this performative premise is questioned by today’s forced migration in juxtaposition with confinement to isolation.

The Thin Line is being built around an innovative aerial prop called FISHING NYLON. It is aN invention of Nikolina Komljenović with which the body is kept in the air by its own efforts. It consists of many thin, plastic, transparent lines of equal length that are organised into 3 curtains that occupy a central position on the stage and the happening can be observed from all positions. Thin lines are incised into the body and encourage it to move. There is no place to rest in this process. There is only harsh reality, pain and desire for change.

The thin line is collaborative work. Artists in collaboration build the work each through their own affinities and character to create a unique work. Space, body, light, sound and the Thin Lines of the installation intertwine layer by layer the material of the performative act. The reciprocity of the reactions of the artists and the spectators, where it is not known who initiates whom into the action, they all simultaneously build the dramaturgy of the work through the self-reflection of the artist and technology.