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27/4/2006

Milovan Destil Markovic

Gallery Kai Hilgemann, Berlin

Homeless Berlin 2006. Transfigurative Paintings in Public Space and in the Gallery

Homeless Berlin consists of a set of transfigurative portraits of homeless men in Berlin. Besides a presentation in Public Space (Checkpoint Charlie), eight portraits (pigment on linen, 250 x 86 cm) will be on display at Gallery Hilgemann. The gallery will also host a documentation room, in which video interviews with those portrayed, as well as photos of their current living places will be shown.

The artist Milovan Destil Markovic has visited, interviewed and painted homeless men in Belgrade, Tokyo and Berlin. Thus Markovic has created a set of impressive portraits that not only tell us about the individual path of life of those portrayed, but also about the social conditions of the society which they inhabit. The fusion of both elements into one intense transfigurative portrait is Markovic’s aim and art. Be it in the ruins of Belgrade, under the bridges of Tokyo or in the backyards of Berlin - the locations and individual stories might differ - their presence in the social constitution of modern cities is the same nonetheless: they are invisible. Homeless people don't play a role in the economics of society and therefore they are not represented. We don't face images of the losers, though we are confronted with the multiple faces of the successful; smiling ubiquitously from billboards and banners, thus carrying the flag of capitalist society. Yet 'the flag of permane nt defeat', as Hemmingway put it, remains in ragged shadows.

Markovic now turns the tables with these politics of representation. A single passage of the homeless' personally told life story is selected for the painting. It includes information about the portrayed personality, the conditions of his failure and the influences of the surrounding culture and society. Therefore, the transfigurative portraits of Markovic not only reveal the person, but also refer to society - which has always been a key quality of portrait painting. Affixed with pigment on linen, the sole text passage becomes a transfigurative portrait of the invisible people of modern cities. Presented on a huge advertising banner in the heart of the city (14m x 28m, Checkpoint Charlie), the portrait tells us the story of a different life and questions the ruling mechanisms of representation in our society. Markovic elevates men without social standing to icons, thus challenging the prototypes of our success-based society.

Additional editions (pigment on paper) of the portraits will also be issued.

The exhibition will close with the publication of the catalogue "Markovic - Transfigurative Works".

Image credit: Milovan Markovic: Textportrait of PETER SCHELLER, pigment on linen, 250cm x 86cm.

Opening Exhibition: Friday April 28th, 6pm - 10pm

Kai Hilgemann Gallery
Zimmerstrasse 90/91, 2nd Court - Berlin
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 6pm. Open doors on Sunday April 30th, 11am - 18 pm

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