Jasenko Rasol: Sinking Ships

On Thursday, June 20, in the Jaslice hall, we will open the exhibition of the photographer Jasenko Rasol titled Sinking Ships.

While it initially presents itself as an aesthetic phenomenon, the photo-series Sinking Ships has an underlying ethical basis. And the emphasis is on the perspective. Twelve large-format photographs (3.5 m x 2.33 m) are placed on the floor without frames and museum furnishings, and printed on stickers, thus providing visitors with an unusual experience – of not only looking at but also walking on photographs. Rasol wants the viewer to experience the act of trampling on what undeniably represents value – he captured Brodarski institut two years before its official closure, which was shrouded in the murky circumstances of a restructuring attempt, despite the well-argumented efforts of its employees and management experts to prevent it. What we are looking at in Rasol’s photographs are not symbols that need to be deciphered, rather, as Flusser suggests, we encounter symptoms of reality through which we interpret it. Therefore, Rasol’s exhibition requires a completely different way of observation: we cannot look at wide shots from a distance, nor can we see them in total. Their large dimensions demand a careful observation of details, which may lead to a loss of the overall perspective in favor of an disorienting effect. They serve as a reminder of the neglect of social interest amidst the transition, as well as the uncontrolled decay of cultural and material goods, signifying a crisis of unity and inflicting enduring harm. In administrative terms, we call this the weakening of Croatia’s strategic importance and the waste of its resources.

Jasenko Rasol (Zagreb, 1969) works as a freelance cinematographer and photographer. He graduated in film and TV cinematography from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. Between 1992 and 1996 he was a staff cameraman for Reuters TV. Since 1997, he has been working on documentary and reportage projects, and since 2000 he has filmed feature, documentary, experimental and dance films in Croatia. In addition to his more than three-decade-long cinematographic activity, Rasol is also present on the contemporary photographic scene. He has exhibited continuously at home and abroad and has published six books of photography. His photographs are kept in museum and private collections. He is a member of the Croatian Association of Visual Artists, the Croatian Association of Independent Artists and the Croatian Cinematographers Society.

Curator’s text by Sabina Salamon
Curator: Sabina Salamon
Set-up: PICTOR
Supported by: City of Rijeka, Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media, Primorje – Gorski kotar County