Zhana Ivanova
Zhana Ivanova (Bulgaria, 1977) lives and works in Amsterdam. She studied Russian language and literature at Queen Mary University College in London. In 2009 she graduated from DasArts in Amsterdam and in 2013 she completed a residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. Her practice involves rearranging and reconfiguring daily patterns and structures to which we have grown accustomed. She often uses performance in order to artificially induce situations in which social, gender and power relations fluctuate.
Zhana Ivanova creates performances that reveal underlying codes, rules and constructs in our daily experience. In doing so she makes a proposition for a hidden pattern behind this predictability. The focus is on how we relate to one another – power structures, social and gender relations are often examined. The performances also examine relationships between people. Both directly and indirectly the spectators become participants and the reading of a script is transformed into its performance.
Recent presentations of Ivanova’s works include Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2018), Fondation Ricard, Paris (2017), Playground Festival, Leuven (2017), Kunsthalle Basel (2016), Mendes Wood DM, Sao Paulo (2016), Ellen De Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam (2016), Centre Pompidou, Paris (2015). Her Ongoing Retrospective, a cumulative exhibition at Kunsthalle Basel, is periodically presented in chapters since 2015.
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