Iva Njunjić and Tihomir Dičić: In Reflections...

Commissioner: Slobodan Jović

Iva Njunjić and Tihomir Dičić will represent Serbia at the 18th International Venice Architecture Biennale with In Reflections..., an exhibition that uses the 1977 International Trade Fair in Lagos, Nigeria, a product of non-aligned cooperation between Yugoslavia and Nigeria, as a lens through which to explore futures, presents, and pasts of architecture.

The Non-Aligned Movement, founded in 1961 was a specific international organization whose core politics were embodied in anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, self-determination, and coexistence among states. The politics of non-alignment influenced societies of the young independent states of the African continent in the 1960s and 1970s, with many cities across the continent undergoing the process of transformation. Yugoslavia, as one of the leaders of this Movement, fostered active cooperation among member states, which was realized through numerous construction projects related to the modernization—industrialization and urbanization of young multinational countries in Africa, with many Yugoslav architects and engineers playing a notable role in shaping the projects on the ground. Among those operating in the non-aligned countries of the Global South, the Belgrade company Energoprojekt stood out. In more than forty countries across Africa, Asia and South America, numerous architects from this enterprise conceived buildings as reflections of the future, which upon being built became symbols of modernization and independence of these countries. Many of such projects congress centers, hotels, airports, and international fairs were conceived to be nods in the international infrastructure, aimed to connect African cities to the global map after a period of colonization as protagonists.

The Lagos Fair project, which was selected in an international competition and built between 1974–1976, involved the urbanization of 350 hectares of wetlands. The building itself was a symbol of the newly established multinational state, a reflection of an independent future, and a departure from the colonial past. Once an opening and a destination for the world to gather, The Lagos International Fair today is a place under a pressure of the weight and density of a growing metropolis. Surrounded by barracks and storages built in the last twenty years, architecture of the fair halls needs to be re-read, not in the context of its fidelity to the past and original intentions, but in relation to the future, still open. This is the position that drawn the authors to the fair in February.

Their encounters with the architecture of the Fair are aimed at understanding and activating the processes related to these spaces today. Through research, the authors strive to establish spatial and temporal reflections and, as a result, present an architectural entity. The exhibition deals with the reflections of the former and current present of the architecture created through the politics of global non-alignment on the African continent. The trip to Lagos and encounters with the architecture of the Fair aim to reassess and activate historical connections associated with these spaces today. In the context of the future challenges, the fair is revisited to reaffirm the urgency and potential of the present moment and importance of identifying such structures as resources. 

The exhibition will present the anatomy of the International Trade Fair: the Fair as a the project of city; the Fair as an architectural project; and the Fair as a project that shapes an individual, as part of consciousness and immediate experience. By transforming the space of pavilion into an ellipsoid spatial-temporal map, which brings together archive of intention with current situation of the fair, the visitors are invited to reflect and situate themselves in the potentiality of the new types of built environments. 

The project In Reflections... directs attention to the architecture created through international cooperation, viewing it as both a potential and resource for the future. It allows authors to establish connection with approaches to architecture as an infrastructure for future developed by generations working from Belgrade who had the opportunity to work across the non-aligned world. Njunić and Dičić state that “since start of the project, we have been drawn to a unique period in the past, when architects from our midst have had the opportunity to design spaces around the world. Mondialisation of architecture which has grown knowledge in relation to other cultures. 

The state and political circumstances in which we work have little to do with the past about which we speak here, which does not even belong to us generationally. We have been attracted by the dynamic changes that have transformed this project in the last twenty years, from the international fair to a chaotic hypermarket. We wanted to hear from people who have direct experience of this space and to trigger the processes that will re-actualize this project.”

The jury that selected the work in In Reflections... was selected in the open call in December 2022. Members of the jury and scientific board are Biljana Jotić (President), Dubravka Đukanović, Jelena Ivanović Vojvodić, Miljana Zeković, Snežana Vesnić, Ana Đurić, Jelena Mitrović.

The commissioner of the Serbian Pavilion 2023 is Slobodan Jović and the project is realised by the Museum of Applied Art, Belgrade on behalf of the Ministry of Culture of Republic of Serbia in cooperation with the Union of Architects of Serbia. 

Iva Njunjić and Tihomir Dičić are duo who share common interests and visions in architecture. They participated in several national and international architectural competitions. 

Biographies
Iva Njunjić (b. 1994) received her Master’s degree from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Belgrade (2019).

She began her professional career at the office of Dominique Perrault in Paris, where she participated in various competitions and projects. She gained her professional experience through architectural practice in Belgrade. 

She participated in numerous international and national competitions. 

She is the representative of Serbia at the Architecture Biennale 2023 in Venice. 

Contact: njunjiciva@yahoo.com

Tihomir Dičić (b. 1993) received his Master’s degree from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Belgrade (2017).

He gained professional experience in architectural offices in Bucharest and Belgrade. He was awarded for several architecture competitions in Serbia and the region and has exhibited at national and international exhibitions of architecture and design. He is an architect activist and an active member of the NGO Streets for Cyclists. He is the representative of Serbia at the Architecture Biennale 2023 in Venice.

Contact: tdicic93@gmail.com

For more inquiries about the exhibition In Reflection... please contact: Slavica Pešić, public relations, slavicapeshic@gmail.com