Photo: Jasenko Rasol
Through the exhibition The Book of Invisible Influence, Rijeka-based artist Nika Rukavina explores the invisible yet deeply ingrained patterns that shape women’s experiences from an early age. The opening programme will take place on Friday, March 20, according to the following schedule:
The exhibition will remain open until April 10, admission is free.
Gallery opening hours:
Monday – Friday 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | 5 – 8 p.m.
Saturday 5 – 8 p.m.
– closed on Sundays and public holidays
Foto: Jasenko Rasol
»One of the first things girls are taught from an early age is how “not to be” something or how “not to do” something. I speak about this in my art project The Book of Invisible Influence, in which I collect sentences that women have heard throughout their lives. Sentences such as: This is not appropriate for a girl; Sometimes I have to hit her, but my heart breaks; Be quiet and endure; Don’t cry, it will all pass when you get married; You’re too much of a tomboy; When you grow up, you’ll be a beautiful girl. These sentences have left a deep mark on them and have shaped the way they behave and how they perceive themselves.
The influences we are exposed to are often so subtle that we are not even aware of our own inequality. Even when we believe we have emancipated ourselves, we still carry limitations and beliefs within us that we have imposed on ourselves or accepted from society. What we are told throughout our lives – especially when we are children – strongly shapes the way we see ourselves, influences our self-confidence, and affects the way we relate to the world around us.
Most of the sentences were collected through discussions on Facebook, mainly from women from the countries of the former Yugoslavia, but also from beyond the region. I am still collecting them – the project is alive and continuously expanding. So far, more than 100 sentences have been gathered.
This project led me to another work titled Don’t be so emotional, a sentence I heard countless times as a child and one that strongly influenced my behaviour and my inability to deal with my own emotions. In this work, I carve that sentence into stone as a symbol of the pain it caused me. By breaking the stone, I symbolically free myself from that trauma.
I bring these two works together in a larger installation: a selection of the collected sentences is written on the gallery walls; The Book of Invisible Influence is placed in the space for visitors to browse, with the possibility of leaving their own sentence to be added to the book; and a video installation of the work Don’t be so emotional is presented. On the opening day, I perform Don’t be so emotional, after which I invite visitors to write their own sentence on a plate and then break it.
Foto: Jasenko Rasol
My artistic practice and the workshops I lead have so far existed separately, but they share a common goal: to highlight injustice, empower women, and heal the traumas we carry through art. By combining artistic practice with my experience of working with people, I want to create a deeper and more direct impact on the audience.
As Tania Bruguera said, “I don’t want art that points to a thing. I want art being the thing” (Tate, n.d.). Art that merely speaks about problems is no longer enough for me. I am interested in art that offers people the opportunity to participate, to recognize themselves within it, and through that process to change the way they see themselves and the world around them.«
– Nika Rukavina, artist statement for the Rijeka exhibition
The exhibition was presented in this format at Palermo Gallery, Stuttgart, DE (2023). Without the performance, it was presented at Schafhof Art Forum, Freising, DE (2025).
The performance was presented at: Art Center Bozar, Brussels (2021); Galerija Prozori, Zagreb, HR (2022); Centar kulture KNAP, Zagreb (2023); Memorial Center Lipa, Lipa, HR (2025).
> Upcoming Exhibitions at Drugo more in 2026
☛ Galerija Filodrammatica, Korzo 28/1, Rijeka
PERFORMANCE ‘DON’T BE SO EMOTIONAL’:
Friday, 20 March, from 12 noon to 7 PM
EXHIBITION OPENING:
Friday, 20 March, 7 PM
ARTIST TALK:
Friday, 20 March, 8 PM
GALLERY OPENING HOURS:
Monday – Friday 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | 5 – 8 p.m.
Saturday 5 – 8 p.m.
(closed on Sundays and public holidays; contact us to arrange another time of your visit)
NIKA RUKAVINA
