Duo exhibition “Any coincidence is accidental” in Belgrade, Serbia

Artists: Daria Goncharova and Kristina Valenkova

Although the title of the exhibition explicitly suggests that any similarities (between the works or with reality) are coincidental, this very assertion underlines their existence. The act of negation leads to affirmation. 

At the heart of both artists' work for this exhibition is the production and manipulation of desire. Whether it is the illusion of choice, the allure of transcendence or the lure of 'belonging', society shapes desires that often leave people isolated and disconnected. Both artists critically examine the paradox of desire: its cultivation as a mechanism of control. Turning to the instruments of exclusion, the artists question a system that both encourages and punishes dependency. 

One artist works with the symbolism of marginality, exploring how those relegated to the margins of society navigate a world that views them with suspicion or contempt. Pigeons, often dismissed as a nuisance, become metaphors for social outcasts — beings who exist within the system but remain excluded from its central narratives. Their presence reveals a deeper anxiety about survival and inclusion in a system that offers no clear path to acceptance.

Another artist works with the phenomenon of escapism, the replacement of real relationships with imaginary worlds through the sign system. The mechanism of avoidance becomes a self-perpetuating loop in which desire does not solve the problem but creates frustration. Embracing failure as a poetic and conceptual tool, the artist addresses the concept of disrupted navigation, highlighting the disconnection between signs and their original content.