Sara Lerota & Marija Petkovic - Artistic Pinnacle

 

The Shard and Sara Lerota's Door

We're getting close to the pinnacle of our journey here at the Cardboard City exhibition and today we welcome two artists from out-of-town. Take a walk from the ruins of Winchester Palace where we found yesterday's doors and you cannot avoid two of London's towering landmarks. Southwark Cathedral and The Shard are separated by just a few metres but the gulf between them is a Millennium's width.



Southwark Cathedral &
Marija Petkovic's door

Marija Petkovic's artwork is exhibited next to two of the city's greatest survivors, The London Plane and in sight of the Cathedral which has been a site of Christian worship for over 1000 years. While Sara Lerota's art lurks in the shadow of Europe's tallest building. The Shard is a recent addition to our skyline (completed in 2012), it divides opinion and has been recently described as Boris Johnson's Judas Cradle as well as being awarded the more tourist friendly 'Iconic' badge.

Marija Petkovic - 'Card Settlement'

Marija Petkovic is a new face on the London and CollectConnect streets. She is a photographer and artist who is flexing her artistic muscle on the vibrant Belgrade scene. Recently receiving an award with our very own Jovana Mitic.

Marija Petkovic - Zemun Settlement, Serbia

Her artwork for the Cardboard City exhibition is an apt one. Here she presents us with an aerial photograph of a Shanty Town in Zemun, which is one of the 17 municipalities of  Belgrade. These makeshift dwellings greet many a visitor as they arrive by train in the Serbia's capital city. There has been some controversy about the eviction of Roma residences and the destruction of their homes in Belgrade, an issue that will rumble on in these tight financial times.

Sara Lerota's door

In contrast Sara Lerota has been our tenacious correspondent from Mostar for over 3 years. She first fell into our street art laps for Nottingham's Lightbite exhibition in 2011. Since then I have addressed many a letter to Bosnia and Herzegovina with her name on it, with magnets and exhibition catalogues inside. When not working with us on films and PR she is embellishing an impressive CV and portfolio that has seen her exhibit in Sarajevo,, Barcelona, Majdanpek, Zagreb and Berlin amongst others.

Sara Lerota -
A sense of belonging-essence of home

For this exhibition Lerota has taken a surprise approach, normally she relies on her superior drawing technique to raise the tone of the work but here she has taken the conceptual and abstract path. 'A sense of belonging-essence of home' is a town plan of integration, with each faction or district represented in both the inner circle and on the outer fringes.
It also symbolises our very own exhibitions where the catalyst is sparked into life by an individual and the varied styles, nationalities and ethnicities gather around, adding their very own colour to proceedings.

AL.