The Surplus shows a female person (the artist) as she is licking the surface of a table. Referring to a variation of BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Sadism/Masochism), domination and submission, the artist places herself in the position of a submissive, where she gives control to the dominant in the ritualized act of sharing power. Since the figure to be obeyed is not physically present or we do not see them, the work also speaks of the relationship between desires and expectations. Namely, bearing in mind that the work was created during her master’s academic studies, the act of the author, i.e., the video performance, in this sense, can also be understood as a desire to “obey”, i.e., to adapt to the professional criteria set by the institution, in fact, by the professors.

“When I bring to mind the act of licking the surface of the table, I remember my masochistic desire to be subjugated and controlled. Performing this twisted action made the taste of senselessness sweeter. The feelings of misunderstanding and hopelessness were not something I would resist, but something I was completely at peace with. And more than that, something I liked and loved.” (A. Božanić, Catalogue of the 56^th October Salon).

Over time, in the action she performed, the author has recognized the part of herself that needs integration. In this sense, the work also draws attention to the fact that coping with problems is an individual process, but that changes occur only in the relationship between the individual and the world.

© Cultural Centre of Belgrade, the October Salon Collection and the artist
Purchase Contract: III-5-456/14.11.2018.
Inventory No. 1624
Photo: still from the video work

Selected Bibliography:
56^th October Salon, The Pleasure of Love. Cultural Centre of Belgrade, 2016
BUG 4/2, Exhibition of students of the Faculty of Fine Art within the subject of Transmedia Research 2013-2014, February 16, 2015, 12 HUB Gallery, Belgrade, 2015.