Laufer Art

Performances, video and collages

Born and raised in the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses, Luka Lićina (b. 1997, Belgrade) decided to break away at the age of 18. But that meant breaking away from his entire family, his food and shelter and all of his friends. Luka was free, but also homeless and penniless. Since then he has created an outstanding and diverse artistic practice around his experience. Photography, performance, sculpture and painting are now part of the language Luka uses to share his vision.

For our first participation in TAF, we wish to present a solo show of Luka, articulated around his performance “When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you”, first performed at the Faculty of Arts in Belgrade on 12 June 2022.

Two distinct performances will take place in different spaces:

- Luka will first stage a similar performance to the one performed in Belgrade. He reproduces the very same ritual learned and transmitted in the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses whereas the convert is immersed wholly in water. Jehovah's Witnesses baptize in Christ, whereas Luka baptizes in Art. Members of the public are asked to participate on a voluntary basis, Luka baptizes them and lets them go. He thus reminds the audience of the eternal and intimate connection between art, religion, faith and rituals. Luka also lets baptized or non-baptized members of the audience interpret the performance as they see fit, or as they feel.

- The other performance will consist of Luka sitting at a table in our booth and executing collages based on Jehovah's Witnesses literature, and centering on baptism, lasting the whole duration of the fair. These pieces will need between 5 minutes to one hour to complete. They will be for immediate sale.

The booth will only show one large flat-screen TV with a film of the Belgrade performance going in a 5-minute loop.