Serbia: Dzafo Wins Politika Fine Arts Award

“Lepus in Fabula“ by artist Nikola Dzafo was an exhibition held in February last year in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina.

Dzafo's creation was so named because it was composed of several similar elements – the Rabbit opera, an art installation made out of rabbits, and photographs of the furry creatures. 2011 was the year of the hare or rabbit- Lepus in Latin- according to the Chinese zodiac.

Dzafo's exhibition Lepus in fabula. | Source: Youtube

The decision to present the 69th Politika Award for Fine Arts to Dzafo was made by a jury of three art experts: art historians Liljana Djinkul and Sasa Janjic, and the editor of the culture section of Politika, Marija Djordjevic.

The artist told Politika that he was surprised to hear that he had won the award, as the competition this year was very strong.

He said that as a young man he believed he could change the world with his art, but this belief was shattered by the events of the 1990s in Serbia. Dzafo explained that during the 1990s he stopped creating for awhile and dedicated himself to the fight for social justice.

“I started painting again recently. I can’t explain why. Maybe its because I have always believed in the utopist notion that art can change the world for the better," Dzafo said.

Dzafo, who has included rabbits in his art regularly for 18 years, graduated with a degree in painting from Belgrade's Faculty of Fine Arts in 1978. He is the founder of the Led Art group, and cofounder of the Center for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade, as well as the multimedia center Led Art in Novi Sad and the Art Clinic.

An exhibition of Dzafo’s paintings is currently taking place at the Nova Gallery in Belgrade.

The Fine Arts Award will be presented at Politika's yearly celebration on January 25.