Catalogue > At random

The Gift is a film about the use and abuse of culture in times of political and ideological crisis. It tells the story of a competition for a perfect gift that could heal a broken nation. The Gift is composed entirely of historical ready-mades that include some of the most perturbing examples of art, music and architecture deployed as trojan horses of political powers. The film’s locations include iconic buildings which were all political gifts themselves - including Oscar Niemeyer’s French Communist Party HQ in Paris, the Palace of Nations in Geneva, Mount Buzludzha in Bolgaria and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw.

Jasmina Cibic is a Slovenian artist currently based in London, who works in film, performance and installation. She represented Slovenia at the 55th Venice Biennial with her project “For Our Economy and Culture”. Her recent exhibitions include solo shows at: Museum der Moderne Salzburg, The Highline New York, macLyon, Museum Sztuki ?ód?, Museum of Contemporary Art Ljubljana, CCA Glasgow, Phi Foundation Montreal, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art Gateshead, Ludwig Museum Budapest, Kunstmuseen Krefeld along with group exhibitions at MAXXI Rome, Steirischer Herbst ‘19, MOMA NY, Marta Herford and Guangdong Museum of Art China. Cibic’s films have been screened at the Barbican London, Whitechapel Gallery, CCA Montreal, Pula Film Festival, HKW Berlin, Louvre, Les Rencontres Internationales Paris, Aesthetica, Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Dokfest Kassel and Copenhagen International Documentary Festival. Cibic was the winner of the MAC International Ulster Bank and Charlottenborg Fonden awards (2016), the B3 Biennial of the Moving Image Award (2020) and the Film London Jarman Award (2021).