Proposal by creative practitioner Nela Milic

This work deals with the concept of the unused that is interpreted on two levels – one that presents the object as never used and the other that looks at the object as underused. The idea comes from the fascination with the consumer culture that forces both “must have” and aesthetical questions ahead of practicality, utility, content… The embodiment of such a tension between capital and happiness is the wedding dress. It is looked as a promise of happiness and long lasting marriage, the loaded artefact in which so much is invested. Hence, it is costly, but used only once, if at all… The exposure of it on its own, outside of the wedding ceremony or a store and with no body to support it exposes its’ impossible nature. So, I would display it in a glass box, under one of the Regents canal arches. It would not be lit as this glossy white material glows in the dark, staring at us like someone wanted to get rid of it.

Many wedding dresses are disposed in dry cleaners after the deed is done or are sitting lonely in boxes on the attic, waiting for another opportunity to come out… The dress that does not go out needs to be seen again, by the public that wants one, harbours one, can’t wear one, is ashamed of one. The dress with so many implications makes us stare and this is why it is an artwork in itself, however much it costs… A life?

Location images: Hereford and Regent’s Canal

I am a visual artist and a writer working in film and theatre. I use drama to express the themes I am interested in, for which I develop prints of images and text on screen, textile and paper. I particularly use mosaic and collage as they contain stories and recall memories of the place, age and circumstance. I often merge poetry with photographs, creating installations and publications – e.g. oral histories turned into audio tour and graffiti. In creative writing workshops, I present my poetry and inspire the participants to visualise what I saw/felt to write such words and create such melody. Drawing on imagery and the sound, I engage them in writing their own visions and stories.

My work centres on the theme of identity – lost and regained through leaving home. It explores the sense of belonging and the stages of adjustment to the new environment. This gives me a number of themes for my artwork – past, present, future, memory, roots, migration, displacement, identity, a sense of place, integration… I present them in various formats; from video, fashion design to architecture and film. My artwork is predominantly presented as interactive installations which invite people to act as they are on the stage, in the set design. The audience makes up their own story from the objects they see, touch and walk through while I illuminate the paths to the narrative.