Mladen Stilinović
Mladen Stilinović questioned the deep structures of society that determined the role of the artist as an agent (and captive) of language. He famously said: ‘An artist who doesn’t speak English is not an artist.’ In collages and photographs based on the colours of the Croatian flag he challenges the authority of national symbols. His ‘taxonomical’ installations use seemingly innocuous objects and paintings to critique socialist and neoliberal ideology and expose the unequal and unstable relation between the individual and society. By juxtaposing dislocated signs Stilinović ironically visualises the constants of human powerlessness and suffering.