A Serbian visual artist based in London, Vladimir Lalić, installed a permanent public sculpture “To Move, is to Bloom” in the English capital a few days ago.
In the heart of the London Borough of Lewisham, in Manor House Gardens park, a new permanent public sculpture emerges from the lake – “To Move, is to Bloom”, a work by artist Vladimir Lalić, who has been living and working in London for the past three years.
With this work, which was unveiled on November 2, Lalić became the first and only artist from Serbia whose permanent sculpture is located in Great Britain.
The artist’s sculpture transforms the lake into a poetic scene of movement and reflection. A flock of fictional creatures – fifteen individuals of the same species, each of a different and unique form – rises on flexible stainless steel rods, while their hand-painted bodies and wings gently sway in the wind and light. Their heads gradually open and transform into flowers, as if they are undergoing a metaphysical metamorphosis – a process of evolution that takes place between the depth of the water and the transparency of the air.
The installation is accompanied by a soundscape that the visual artist, also a trained musician, composed himself, using the tones of vibrating metal while “playing” the sculptures with his hands. That gentle echo creates an impression of movement and flight – giving the work another layer of life and presence.
The inspiration for the work came from the natural phenomenon of the “Tisa blooming” – the moment when in northern Serbia, near Novi Bečej, the birthplace of Lalić’s ancestors, millions of mayflies rise from the river and fill the sky with glittering wings for a few hours.
– That sight has always fascinated me. For me, it is a metaphor for migration and change. Every movement carries within it both struggle, beauty, and new life – points out Vladimir Lalić.
Through personal experience, the artist, however, also touches upon a wider political topic. Namely, Lalić was denied a tourist visa for Great Britain a few years ago, and today he lives and works in London thanks to the prestigious Global Talent visa. This work thus becomes a subtle critique of the contemporary policy of increasingly strict immigration measures, but also a poetic answer to them – artistic proof that movement and belonging know no boundaries.
The sculpture was created as part of the “Art Voyage Biennial” initiative, led by curator Tima Jam. It is also part of the “Echoes of Migration” project, dedicated to the theme of migration through contemporary art. The project was financed by Arts Council England and the National Lottery, with the support of the Belgrade Gallery Novembar and the Đerković family.
Born in Belgrade in 1983, Vladimir Lalić graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts, where he worked for a time as an assistant at the Department of Graphics, and completed his master’s studies at Goldsmiths University in London. He has been a member of the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia since 2009, and so far he has exhibited at more than 80 group and 38 solo exhibitions in Serbia and abroad, including in New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Trieste, and Bristol.
He is the recipient of numerous awards for visual arts, including the prestigious “Prix Paul-Louis Weiller” painting award given by the French Academy of Fine Arts in Paris, as well as the Vladimir Veličković Foundation award for drawing. He participated in artistic residencies in Paris (Cité Internationale des Arts) and Singapore (Tropical Lab). His works are kept in numerous private and public collections around the world.
While the Serbian and French public know him for his drawings, graphics, and collages, after moving to London he has increasingly devoted himself to sculpture. In addition to fine art, Lalić is also involved in music – he is a trained opera singer and performer, who was part of the Viva Vox choir, and performed in Madlenianum. He also performs progressive rock and experimental music. He has given more than 400 concerts around the world, performing in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The sculpture “To Move, is to Bloom” celebrates resilience, diversity, and renewal, transforming the notion of migration from a challenge into an act of creation and emergence. Made of stainless steel and non-toxic paints, the installation is carefully harmonized with the local ecosystem and safe for birds, fish, and plant life. Throughout the year, it changes its tone and reflection, becoming part of the living landscape of London.
Now that Lalić’s work occupies a permanent place in the cultural landscape of the British capital, the work is also a reminder that movement, whether physical or internal, is the essence of every life and change. The artist notes in conclusion that movement changes and renews us:
– Through movement, we can bloom – but in that movement, we always carry our origin, our stories, and the layers from which we emerged. Each of us has our own rhythm and our own path. It is precisely in this difference that the beauty and strength of a shared flight lie.
MORE TOPICS:
DUE TO LIKING POSTS ABOUT PROTESTS: Serbian Army officers overnight received reassignment orders!
Source: Nova.rs; Photo: Kevin Percival