Behind the Tide

The group exhibition Behind the Tide sets up a dialogue between selected artworks from the Collections of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and several invited contemporary artists, creating a timeline from the early 20th century to recent artistic productions

By observing the immediate surroundings as a space that entwines historical perspectives, everyday events, landscape, atmospheres, climate, and the imagination of the future, the exhibition Behind the Tide directs attention to the layered contexts that frame the relationship between the sea and the city and point to the complex dynamics of maritime logistics, which, as the foundation of the modern economy, are structured around a series of conditions, positions, and ideas specifically shaped by the sea.​

The group exhibition Behind the Tide sets up a dialogue between selected artworks from the Collections of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and several invited contemporary artists, creating a timeline from the early 20th century to recent artistic productions. Addressing issues viewed through the interplay of representation of a place and power relations, or the politics of landscape, the selection spans from idyllic representations of seascapes, themes of labor, and portrayals of life and work by and on the sea as fundamental conditions of existence, through current phenomena including contemporary scenes of migration, ecology, landscapes as sites of exploitation and extraction, to meditative, fantastical reflections on spatial and optical phenomena, the blinding Mediterranean sun, and the emergence of the Black Mediterranean. The exhibition Behind the Tide navigates an imaginary map that perceives the sea and coastal zone as spaces of labor, respite, as well as fears and hopes. It encompasses works created in various media, including photography, video, and painting, forming an interdisciplinary platform that examines pressing global issues. Behind the Tide thus presents a dialogue of artistic positions and interrelations of ideas and images emerging around social, artistic, and economic questions, or concepts such as travel, migration, navigation, shipbuilding, and life on or by the sea. It offers insight into how these themes are reflected in artistic phenomena, particularly through the lens of modernization and the development of technological and artistic expressions framed by the sea. The exhibition unfolds through the interaction of images, their flow, and the overlapping of worlds, juxtaposing images of diverse backgrounds and influences, conditions, and atmospheres. From the dramatic anthological Marina by Menci Cl. Crnčić, Port agent by Sava Šumanović and Dockworkers by Sergije Glumac, to the series of photographs titled The Rijeka Port by Mladen Tudor, or short experimental documentary by Petar Trinajstić, followed by fantastic imaginary by Cvijeta Job, through new geopolitical routes and constellations in the work by Elena Mazzi and catastrophic scenario brought by Oliver Ressler, or The Sea of People – Phantom Trades, the expanded painting installation by Tina Gverović presented as part of the Croatian Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale, post-apocalyptic raft (Land) by Branimir Štivić and large scale spatial gestures of Siniša Ilić’s grand textile work representing the Black Mediterranean from the Low Tide series., the exhibition brings together over twenty artists, highlighting numerous artistic positions across different generations. The dialectic of the tide thus inscribes complexities and contradictions, delineating a space at the intersection of international trade, fishing, daily life, shipbuilding, transportation, and tourism. The identity, vistas, daily life, and economic development of Rijeka, as well as contemporary port cities in Croatia and the Mediterranean, have for decades been defined by the interplay between the city and the sea. By embedding itself in the local context, the exhibition recognizes this relationship and translates it into the realm of universal and global dynamics that evolve around various scenes and situations defining economies, influencing prosperity. ​ (Branka Benčić, from the foreword)

Featured artists: Ante Brkan, Menci Cl. Crnčić, Boris Cvjetanović, Avgust Černigoj, Igor Eškinja, Leopold Fisher, Sergije Glumac, Tina Gverović, Siniša Ilić, Nina Ivančić, Cvijeta Job, Elena Mazzi, Damir Očko, Oliver Ressler, Zvonimir Pliskovac, Renata Poljak, Miranda Raicich, Sava Šumanović, Frano Šimunović, Branimir Štivić, Petar Trinajstić, Mladen Tudor.

Curatorial concept: Branka Benčić

Curators: Branka Benčić, Kristina Barišić

The exhibition is made possible thanks to the City of Rijeka, The Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the MMSU’s Kamov Residency Program.

A modified and reduced version of the exhibition will be hosted in July at the Novo Gallery in Pula, as part of the accompanying program of the Pula Film Festival. A joint catalog is in preparation.