Artists Statement

Sunčica Pasuljević Kandić

scholar visual arts 1.7. – 30.9.2024

What made you apply for the otte1 scholarship?
I was looking for a longer residency stay that would allow me an isolated time to work on my PhD thesis. I prefer to choose art residencies that are more remote or in smaller areas connected to nature and Eckernförde offered all that.

What did you work on during your stay?
During my stay at Otte1 I focused on written as well as practice based research elements of my PhD thesis. As a practical element I did a picnic walk with local people, where we practiced embodied listening, reconnecting with nature and ourselves. I have also put in motion a site specific work to be set in the future as part of my ongoing work on zones for communication with nature and non-human.
I have created a new video work for an exhibitin in Serbia and sorted our some previous artworks as well.

What inspired you at the Künstlerhaus in Eckernförde?
I was inspired by ways of how local people take care of each other and nature, particularly Erika R. “Zuhörbank/listening bench” and Michael P. “Eimersee/Bucket lake”. Both resonate with me and my practice and these inspirations will be futured in a zine as a visual outcome of my research there.

What do you take away from Eckernförde for your further artistic development?
Since this has been my first longer residency, where I could commit focused time just on one particular work, my take away is that slowness is good. Taking small steps and allowing for rest and relaxation to balance the workflow.

What would you like to add?
I would like to thank the Otte1 team for their hospitality during the stay.