IN DA HOUSE

Traditional interpretations of the home as a space of warmth and protectionare present in a large number of cultures, so heritage institutions often promote and interpret the value of physical andsymbolic spacesby calling them ‘homes’. InNikola Marković’s exhibition, In da House, X Vitamin Gallery starts off its first exhibition programin a nineteenth century house that guards important but hidden secrets of the city. The exhibition is comprised of small format artworks developed over a period of five years in several series. The most striking is a series in which the artist presents houses from horror films. Confined, closed spacesgive off acertain energy, which we can sense in the atmosphere when entering this space. The horror genre presents ‘the home’ as a space of fear and terror, representing the painful and difficult process of overcoming problems, loss or trauma. As a symbol of the psyche, the house represents inner space, which is clearly separated from the outside world (the space outside of the house). The images evoke a sense of mystery for the viewer, which connects to questions surrounding the hidden meanings an artwork carries, in the context of both these works and art more broadly. Nikola Marković reveals this hidden world in his work, presented through several layered motifs and a multitude of artistic interpretations.