Lena 2016

Curator: Looking at this canvas, one is immediately struck by the juxtaposition of a photorealistic child portrait with utterly surreal, almost chaotic elements. Editor: Yes, that’s immediately what grabbed my attention too. The little girl exudes such innocence and quietude, yet she's surrounded by this exploding fantasy world. There’s almost a sense of unease. Curator: Well, that friction is key to understanding the work. This is "Lena" painted in 2016 by Dragan Ilić Di Vogo. He is known for blending realism with elements of surrealism. You see that neo-expressionist influence emerging through the use of color and form around the figure, unsettling what would otherwise be a straightforward portrait. Editor: I can certainly see echoes of those movements in the background’s dreamlike imagery and the girl's decorative, almost abstract ornamentation. Considering it through a gender lens, it reads almost as a staged innocence. Is she passively performing girlhood, adorned and observed? What expectations does society put onto young girls? Curator: I think that's a fair reading. Historically, child portraits are loaded with socio-political meaning reflecting not just the subjects but parental aspirations and social status. The disruptive abstract painting could express the artist's interpretation of his subject’s status through color, which represents the power structure imposed on children within a society. Editor: Exactly! It becomes this intersectional commentary then – touching on themes of childhood, the societal construction of innocence, even challenging this whole traditional framework of portraiture. Her neutral expression is everything; does it hide something, perhaps a refusal, or signal just being too young to know all that will come? Curator: The blending of representational and abstract elements challenges us to move beyond simplistic interpretations and to consider it within wider narratives on identity. Thank you for your input. Editor: Thank you. The experience of childhood itself remains quite a complex subject, to say the least.