Klelija Zhivkovikj
born in Skopje, N. Macedonia in 1989, lives there
When was the last time you felt truly alive, my love?, 2026
Wallpaper, digitally edited
Commission evn collection 2026
First shown at the exhibition “Tapeti” in Skopje, 2026
Inv. No. WP_39
Klelija Zhivkovikj’s practice straddles the realms of art, design, and research, exploring social, emotional, and ecological networks of relationships. As the artist herself puts it, the starting point is always “the ongoing research into aliveness that drives my artistic practice.” Building on Audre Lorde’s understanding of the erotic as a force and Anna Tsings’ concept of restoring species-rich life in the Holocene, Zhivkovikj is dedicated to exploring aliveness as a fundamental resource shared by all living beings. In light of the complex technological, political, and ecological challenges of the present, she sees her work as a contribution to the task of imagining and actively bringing forth a world that is regaining its strength. The wallpaper she designed for the evn collection, with its poetic title, is based on a serial, geometric pattern. The dark background intensifies the effect of the graphic elements and creates a dense, concentrated atmosphere. To generate this pattern, the artist—who trained with a focus on social design—used digital software: with the help of TouchDesigner, a visual programming language for the real-time creation of multimedia content, she visualized sound and voice recordings from earlier works in real time using a pre-written code. The image data generated in this way forms the basis of the wallpaper pattern and translates immaterial, time-based content into a permanent visual structure. In doing so, Zhivkovikj follows an expanded concept of technology: “Technology is not just the capitalist manifestation of ingenuity […]. It is any tool that we can access that can transform one thing into another.” Formally, the work recalls patterns from the Wiener Werkstätte, particularly its strictly geometric ornamentation with clear contrasts on a dark background. However, this reference is not used in a historicizing manner, but rather transposed into a contemporary conText: for Zhivkovikj, ornament is a medium of relationship and resonance—driven by the conviction that technologies, beyond their capitalist use, possess the potential to have a transformative impact on the shaping of the present.continue reading
Text: Heike Maier-Rieper, 2026
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)