Črno-bela podoba notranjosti zapuščene, razpadajoče stavbe prekriva skoraj celotno steno razstavnega prostora. Delo Sleeping Beauty (2021) je video projekcija, na kateri se menjavajo različne fotografije. Dimenzija ustvarja občutek, kot da je pred nami pogled v ta prostor, da se galerija nadaljuje vanj. Fizična prisotnost in velikost ustvarjata vtis monumentalnosti. Fotografije kažejo del arhitekturnega objekta v malem mestu Krvavica blizu Makarske. Glede na trenutno stanje je težko verjeti, da je bil objekt zgrajen v začetku šestdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja. Vizualno impresivna arhitektura z nenavadno zgodovino danes propada. Izgleda, kot bi bila iz nekega drugega časa – iz druge države, druge družbe, druge mentalitete. Izbrana stavba ni naključna, hkrati pa povzema tudi druge opuščene stavbe iz omenjenega obdobja. Lina Rica se v svoji ustvarjalni praksi ukvarja s percepcijo časa, družbenimi procesi ter njihovimi vplivi na posameznika: s procesi trajnosti, spremenljivosti, minljivosti. Je predstavnica generacije, ki je rojena v nekdanji Jugoslaviji in je v njej preživela otroštvo. Odraščala je v obdobju osamosvajanja držav, spremembe sistemov. Gre za generacijo, ki je vzgojena v kolektivnem duhu socializma, ki se je oblikovala v t.i. obdobju tranzicije, živi pa sedaj. Pričakovanja, vrednote in ideali, ki so nam privzgojeni, se ne skladajo s tem, kar nas obdaja. Melanholija mogočne zgradbe v razpadanju ima poseben čar. Ne gre za nostalgijo po preteklosti, temveč za razmišljanje o sedanjosti. Iskanje stabilnosti v sprejemanju sprememb.

Nasproti monumentalne podobe je postavljeno minimalistično delo The Self (2021). Umetnica je po zgledu kompleta spominskih značk s portretom Josipa Broza Tita v profilu, naredila lastno edicijo. Znotraj enega ovitka, kjer je z zlatimi črkami zapisano njeno ime so tri značke – v zlati, srebni in bakreni barvi, le da je namesto Titovega portreta njena podoba. Gre za humorno gesto. Apropriacija oblike in njena zamenjava z lastno apelira na aktualno tendenco k individualizaciji, lastni promociji in trženju, kar se danes pretežno dogaja na spletu. Izbira formata, ki je materialen, čas, ki je potreben za izdelavo, tako na nek način nasprotuje tej težnji in obeležuje možnost izdelave oprijemljive lastne podobe, postavljene v realen prostor. Hkrati postavlja vprašanje ali bo referenca na včasih tako znano podobo, danes sploh še prepoznana in kaj sploh obeležuje ta spominska značka.

Lina Rica ustvarja dela, ki se s časom spreminjajo in v katera pogosto vključuje besede. Te so izbrane skrbno, premišljeno, tudi dvoumno. Kot orodje uporablja spletne baze, arhive in programe, preko katerih raziskuje pogostost uporabe izbranih besed, odnose med njimi, ipd.

Skoraj paradoksalno se sliši, da je največja stalnica del Line Rice ravno obravnavanje spremenljivosti, minljivosti. Razstava ustvarja posebno poetično atmosfero, ki jo dosega prav s formalno estetiko razstavljenih del. Vsebina, ki stoji za njimi, same besede, ki jih vidimo in beremo pa gledalca nagovarjajo, da se ustavi. Lahko še v kaj verjamemo? Na kaj se lahko zanesemo? Razstava je dokument časa in konteksta, osebne zgodovine in duha generacije.

Nina Skumavc, besedilo uz razstavo Zmerno do pretežno spremenljivo v Galeriji P74

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The black-and-white image of the interior of the abandoned, decaying building covers almost the entire wall of the exhibition space. The piece Sleeping Beauty (2021) is a video projection in which different photographs take turn. This dimension creates a specific feeling, as if there was a view of this space in front of us, that the gallery continues into it. The physical presence and the size create an inscription of monumentality. Photographs reveal a part of an architectural object in Krvavica, a small town near Makarska. Given the current situation, it is hard to believe that the object was built in the early 1960s. This visually impressive architecture with an unusual history is disintegrating today. It looks like it is from another time – from another country, another society, another mentality. The building is not selected accidentally, but at the same time, it also summarizes other abandoned buildings from the mentioned period. In her creative practice, Lina Rica deals with the perception of time, social processes and their influences on the individual: the processes of sustainability, changeability, transience. She is a representative of the generation that was born in ex-Yugoslavia and spent her childhood there. She grew up in a period of state independence, changes in systems. It is a generation brought up in the collective spirit of socialism, formed in the so-called period of transition, while living now. The expectations, values, and ideals that are instilled in us are inconsistent with what surrounds us. The melancholy of the mighty building in disintegration has a special charm. It is not about nostalgia for the past but about thinking about the present. Searching for stability in accepting changes.

Opposite the monumental image, there is the minimalist piece The Self (2021). Following the example of a set of commemorative badges featuring a portrait of Josip Broz Tito in profile, the artist made her own edition of the image. The inside cover, where her name is written in golden letters, features three badges – in gold, silver and copper, except that instead of Tito’s portrait, there is her image. This is a humorous gesture. The appropriation of form and its replacement with one’s own addresses the current tendency towards individualization, one’s own promotion and marketing, which today mostly happens online. The choice of a material format and the time required for production opposes in a certain way this tendency and marks the possibility of producing a tangible self-image placed in real space. At the same time, it raises the question of whether the reference to the image that was once so well-known will still be recognized today and what this commemorative badge marks.

Lina Rica creates works that change over time and in which she often includes words. These are chosen carefully, thoughtfully, even ambiguously. As a tool, she uses web databases, archives and programmes through which she researches the frequency of use of selected words, the relationships between them, etc.

It sounds almost paradoxical that the biggest constant of Lina Rica’s work is precisely the treatment of changeability, of transience. The exhibition creates a special poetic atmosphere which is achieved precisely through the formal aesthetics of the exhibited pieces. The content behind them, the very words we see and read, however, persuade the viewer to stop. Can we still believe in anything? What can we rely on? The exhibition is a document of time and context, personal history, and the spirit of the generation.

Nina Skumavc, text for the exhibition Partly to mostly changeable in P74 Gallery , 2021