MixTape by Vesna Pavlović is a series of photographs, exhibitions, public events and performances, and a cassette tape produced by Vesna Pavlović. The project explores her personal documentary photography archives taken in Belgrade (Serbia) during the 1990s, and offers a comprehensive look into an ‘aesthetic of resistance’ at the time of the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Her images capture the 1996 student protests, her early engagement with the art collective Škart and their radio and street performances, the work of peace pacifist group Women in Black, and various other non-for profit organizations such as Radio B92 and Center for Cultural Decontamination.

The images convey an intimate view into a public sphere seen through the lens of a generation which defined a ‘geography of counter-public’ in Serbia and Montenegro during a decade of hardship. During a period of crisis, wars, hyper-inflation, and mass emigration, creating photographs was an act of citizenship and resistance. Different genres of documentary photography on display present a recollection of ‘networked’ memories of individual and collective moments of protest, in which music plays an integral part. As one of the early photographers of the music magazine Ritam in Belgrade, Pavlović created an archive of concert photographs which could be seen as a counter archive to her more institutional documentary work. For her show, the artist selected a number of songs by bands of the former Yugoslavia, which were transcribed phonetically and offered to a group of Nashville musicians to create a special mixtape.

Original music on MixTape by Boye, Darkwood Dub, Ekatarina Velika, Haustor, Jarboli, Laibach, Neočekivana sila koja se iznenada pojavljuje i rešava stvar, Obojeni Program, Oružjem protivu otmičara, Partibrejkers, Plejboj, Vlada Divljan, Idoli (Ex-Yu).

Performed in Serbo-Croatian and English by Country Music, Dumbsigns, Lambda Celsius, The Mute Group, Lylas, Patrick Damphier, The Robe, Sehr Modern, The Altered Statesman, The Styrofoam Winos, Sugar Sk_lls (Nashville).

MixTape music covers are produced by Loney John Hutchins, Music director, Cleftmusic.

Film by Bill Badi.

An essay by prof. Milena Dragićević-Šesić.

Graphic Design of the Cassette Cover:  Slavimir Stojanović Futro.

The essay, the exhibition talk, public events, and the website:  Vladimir Jerić Vlidi.