Katarina Rašić

Artist statement

“In my artistic practice I have been exploring the ideas of belonging, tradition, female identity. Concept of “home” and national identity is particularly interesting topic for me to explore. Hailing from a country with a turbulent history and living on a different continent (India) I can say that my cultural identity was formed as a blend of many different influences. I was born in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which fell apart in 1992 and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed, in 2003 it became Serbia and Montenegro, and in 2006 just Serbia, so without changing my location I lived in 4 countries. Therefore, I never formed a strong national identity rather I see myself as a melting pot of different cultures, costumes and ways of thinking and understanding, blending together in one personality.

In my artwork, I am trying to explore myself as a person, as an artist, as a performance artist, and as a woman. As a visual artist and a performance artist, I am trying to intermingle these two mediums, using my body to express concepts and then using canvas to bring out what has changed in me with the performance.”