9 rooms in Performer and Participant
In front of an imaginary island film set, a group of participants show improvised performances they have developed with the artist
"The island in the wallpaper is a kind of paradise – no architecture, no trace of people. ... I wanted to connect this imagined island with the people of a socially isolated one."
In the installation ISOLA BELLA, Dakić presents a single-channel video projection in a cinema space. Also on view are a selection of theatrical Victorian-style paper masks worn by the filmed performers, handwritten notes, three film posters and a photograph.
Dakić worked closely with a group of 40 participants to develop performances in front of a reproduction of a 19th century panoramic wallpaper featuring an ideal landscape. Titled Isola Bella (‘beautiful island’ in Italian), the wallpaper inspired Dakić’s work.
The video was filmed at the Home for the Protection of Children and Youth, a residential care home for people with disabilities in Pazarić, a village in Bosnia. While the home caters primarily to children and young people, many residents stay on into adulthood, forming a tight-knit community. During the Bosnian War (1992–95) the home became increasingly isolated from outside contact.
Dakić collaborated closely with the residents, who appear in the film as both audience and actors – singing, dancing, playing the piano and reflecting on their lives and dreams. Together with her team, she created a stage for the participants’ desires and fantasies, giving them the opportunity to step into a utopian ‘Isola Bella’ on film.
Danica Dakić lives in Düsseldorf, Germany and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She often works in collaboration with communities to explore identity, belonging, cultural memory and history.