Lav Paripović: Menagerie from the Suburbs

In April this year, National Geographic published an article entitled "How wild animals hack life in the city", which discusses the increasing appearance of wild animals in urban spaces, but also the increased ability of these same animals to adapt to urban conditions. It is no longer unusual, says the author of the text, to see coyotes feeding on chicken remains in a cemetery in Chicago, or ... Read More

In April this year, National Geographic published an article titled "How Wild Animals Are Hacking Life in the City," which discusses the increasing appearance of wild animals in urban spaces, but also the increased ability of these same animals to adapt to urban conditions. It is no longer unusual, says the author of the text, to see coyotes feeding on the remains of chicken in a cemetery in Chicago, or a mountain lion on the slopes of Hollywood hills, stalking the garbage left behind by tourists.
Lav Paripović's urban bestiary, in a similar way, is characterized by the decontextualization of wild animal motifs, which he displaces from their natural habitat and places in the urban environment – often in Zagreb. Leo paints wild animals together with typically urban motifs, such as manhole covers, on the Sava River near the Hendrix Bridge, or, on the other hand, shapes them into so-called warning signs, similar to traffic ones. Painted in phosphorescent colors, these paintings resemble road signs by the road that warn of some danger, but here we are dealing with the opposite situation, in which the danger does not only threaten humans, but, primarily, animals from humans.
The juxtaposition of the urban landscape and wild animals is also emphasized by the title of the exhibition "Menagerie from the Suburbs", in which the author "co-poses" not only the concepts of urban and wild, but also the tranquility of the suburbs with the wilderness of the menagerie. The stories that the artist tells us resemble apocalyptic fables, but their fragmentary character does not allow for the adoption of lessons or judgments. And although the observer can read a certain ecological dimension and a cry for the preservation of nature and wildlife from his stories, Paripović's menagerie should primarily be seen as a postmodernist collage in which the author combines seemingly incompatible motifs such as those of bears and manholes or bears and the Sava embankment, but at the same time does not pretend to tell a "big story".
In the works of Lev Paripović, one should not look for symbolism; his animals, unlike those we encounter in fables, do not possess anthropomorphic characteristics, in order to outline human weaknesses and flaws and, ultimately, give rise to a lesson. By avoiding this type of recognition, the author destabilizes the meaning of his works and moves away from the anthropocentric perspective, as well as from the adoption of value attitudes and moral judgments. In his paintings, in this way, he "goes beyond meaning", allowing a distance from it, as well as distance from any attempt to define and finally characterize his works, because "sending a message is, in a way, the first step towards sentimentality".
And while fables often have, for their heroes, an unfortunate ending, in order to point out some moral lesson, this artist intended a better fate for the heroes of his animal stories. They do not suffer the consequences of "invading" foreign territory, but simply, like true postmodernist heroes, without any remorse, when they get bored with the hustle and bustle of the city, they float away on the Sava River, back into the wilderness.

Mirna Rul

BIOGRAPHY

Lav Paripović was born on 16.09.1989 in Zagreb. After graduating from the School of Applied Arts and Design, in 2009 he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, majoring in painting. He completed his graduate studies in 2015 in the class of Zoltan Novak, graduating cum laude. So far, he has had two solo exhibitions: In Street Decor, Siva Gallery, AKC Medika, Zagreb (2016) and Bees and Surfaces, VN Gallery, Zagreb (2015). He has also participated in several juried group exhibitions, including: 51st Zagreb Salon, HDLU, Zagreb (2016); International Exhibition of Miniatures, Novi Dvori, Zaprešić (2011-2016); 2nd and 3rd Biennial of Painting, HDLU, Zagreb (2013 and 2015); Passion Heritage, Kristofor Stanković Gallery, Zagreb (2014); 4th Student International Art Biennale SIAB, UKIM, Skopje, Macedonia (2013); Sketch book, SC Gallery, Zagreb and Zlati Anjgel Gallery, Varaždin. In 2014, he was at the GloArt art residency in Belgium. He has received several awards for his work in the field of painting (jury commendation at the 3rd Biennial of Painting, purchase award from the University of Zagreb).

Contact: lav.paripovic@gmail.com