One could say I am the mother of the Internet in Yugoslavia, the mother of this domain. Borka Jerman Blažič

“Borka Jerman Blažič, a professor at the University of Ljubljana, was one of two women computer scientists who were integral to the inception and growth of the internet in Yugoslavia in 1991. The domain which Blažič claims as her offspring is .yu —the internet suffix for a country that, at the time of .yu’s birth, was breaking apart.This previously untold story is the subject of the film From Yu to Me by artist Aleksandra Domanović. She uses the conventions of the documentary form — interviews, archival footage and evocative music, but deliberately chooses to undermine any definitive conclusions. Her omission of concrete dates and place markers obscures claims to documentary truth. Instead it unearths a narrative about how technological infrastructures quietly influence and contradict geo- political realities, while refusing to present these ideas as an authoritative account.

From Yu to Me is one of a number of recent works by Domanović that create speculative narratives in order to reveal deeply personal interconnections between people and technology—specifically women and technology. The video, sculpture and installations included in Mother of This Domain weave together the work of these pioneering female programmers, the marginalized position of women in sci-fi and cyber-feminism, with her own personal narrative — a narrative that corresponds directly to the rise of the internet and the collapse of her home in the former Yugoslavia.” Caitlin Jones (Guest Curator)

Plug In ICA is pleased to present a public conversation between artist Aleksandra Domanović and guest curator Caitlin Jones, in conjunction with the exhibition Mother of This Domain on Thursday September, 24th at 7PM. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, September 26th at 8PM to September 27th at 1AM as part of Nuit Blanche. Both events are free and all are welcome.

Domanović (born 1981 in Novi Sad, former Yugoslavia) lives and works in Berlin. She has produced a body of deeply innovative works that mine popular culture and politics in her investigations into how existing images and information circulate. Conditioned by the terms and aesthetics of digital media, Domanović’s work often utilizes the web as a tool, medium, and organizing principle. She was awarded the 2014/15 ars viva prize, an exhibition series that has included the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg; Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany; and Grazer Kunstverein, Graz, Austria. Her recent solo and group exhibitions include Glasgow International (2014); The Future Was at Her Fingertips, Tanya Leighton Berlin (2013); Meanwhile, Suddenly and Then, 12th Biennale de Lyon (2013); Infinite Inclusion, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco;A Different Kind of Order, ICP Triennial, New York (2013); Turbo Sculpture, Space, London (2012); Higher Atlas, Marrakech Biennale 4th Edition (2012) and From yu to me, Kunsthalle Basel (2012). Her forthcoming exhibitions include the Whitechapel Gallery, London;Aleksandra Domanović: Identity Crisis, High Line Art, New York; andThem, Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin. In 2006, she co- founded the collaborative blog VVORK (www.vvork.com), a rolling archive of posted artworks that functioned as a public sketchbook and gathered over 5000 posts before its end in 2012.

Plug In ICA gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council and Winnipeg Arts Council as well as our generous donors, valued members and dedicated volunteers.

For general information please contact: info@plugin.org

For media inquiries please contact: Sarah Nesbitt at sarah@plugin.org or by phone at (204) 942-1043 ext. 27