Jelena Jureša: Choreography of Violence

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art presents Choreography of Violence, Jelena Jureša’s first larger solo exhibition in Croatia, offering an overview of her recent work in film, video and film installation. In her practice, Jelena Jureša explores questions of identity, the politics of memory and oblivion, the relationship between the observer and the observed, and the representational power of the image. By examining the complex interplay between collective memory and political responsibility, her work questions the ways in which history is reflected and reproduced in contemporary society.

The exhibition Choreography of Violence brings together four pieces as immersive audiovisual installations. Situated between the documentary and the performative, these works focus on the poetics and politics of the moving image, fully transforming the exhibition space. The exhibition brings into dialogue Jureša’s new experimental film Don’t Take It Personally (2025), the experimental film Ubundu (2019), and her monumental and complex work Aphasia (2019)—a feature-length film essay structured in three chapters. The presentation of Aphasia is complemented by Aphasia, Score for Monitors (2025), a multi-channel installation based on an edited recording of the eponymous multimedia concert performance. Most of the works are exhibited in Croatia for the first time.

Focused on the structures that shape space and time, place and identity, Jelena Jureša’s artistic practice over the past five years reveals constellations of suppressed images of history. Deeply engaged with the histories and politics of the long twentieth century, her work exposes the mechanisms of representation, showing how colonialism, nationalism, racism, and capitalism remain inextricably intertwined. Choreography of Violence thus detects a network of relationships that spans decades and traverses the spaces of the European continent, different states, and political and social contexts—pointing to crises and silences while creating a visual space where the personal becomes inseparable from the political.

The cartography of Aphasia begins with the colonial aphasia of Belgium’s imperial past, continues by exposing Austrian racism and antisemitism before and after World War II, and culminates in a response to a photograph depicting the atrocities of the war in Bosnia in the 1990s. Although it is never shown in the film, the photograph is evoked through two mirroring doppelgangers, a monologue by journalist Barbara Matejčić and a choreography of violence performed by Ivana Jozić. The new experimental film Don’t Take It Personally, shown for the first time in Croatia, is based on the writings of Dubravka Ugrešić and continues Jureša’s exploration of historical denial, collective violence, exile, and resistance. By intertwining live performance with fragmented scenes from Dutch Golden Age painting, Don’t Take It Personally reflects on the changes of human behavior—from the banality of evil to complicity and indifference—shaped by capitalism and imperial greed.

The works of Jelena Jureša presented within the exhibition Choreography of Violence confront us with the truths and silences of history, highlighting the power of art to give voice to what is suppressed, forgotten, or unspeakable.

Curated by: Branka Benčić

The exhibition is accompanied by a program of talks, workshops, and screenings. It is complemented by a forthcoming publication developed in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe (CAS SEE), University of Rijeka, and KASK & Conservatorium, as well as a symposium organized by CAS SEE in collaboration with the museum.

Education department: Ivana Golob Mihić, Ana Žarković

Graphic and exhibition design: Maša Poljanec, Oaza

The exhibition is supported by the City of Rijeka, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.