by Josefine Hübler
Dejan Dukic (*1975) works in the field of painting and loves synthesizers. From 2005 to 2012 he studied painting under Franz Graf to be followed by Daniel Richter. Since receiving his diploma in 2012, he has been living and working in Vienna. Considering his method of working in painting, it is not surprising that Dukic’s sound pieces are likewise informed by experimentation and self-emergence.
Dukic approaches the possibilities of sound with a laboratorian sensibility in hour-long experiments/studio sessions with the assistance of various synthesizers — including Roland SH 101, Syncussion, Maxi Korg, MS20 and most importantly the Synamp Moog. Each element within his sound-laboratorium functions as a kind of chemical in a test tube that is constantly subject to re-examination.
In doing so, he tries to capture a production process in a storytelling manner — a story of constant accumulation through sound overlays, subsequent decay or loss and so on — in addition to changing cables or suddenly changing sound properties. He frequently rehearses in hour-long sessions together with friends Paul Gründofer and Michael Fischer and thus enters into an immediate musical exchange. Unlike painting, which for him is a rather solitary process, he considers music to have an incredibly social component, which constitutes its great potential. Despite everything, the incorruptible approach remains a common factor in both. Rather, his works evolve in the process and thus captivate in depth and intensity.
As a teenager, Dukic started investing all his savings in synthesizers and — inspired by techno, which was very popular back then — he began his exploration of sound, especially noise. It was not until his mid-twenties that he devoted himself to painting, thus using his previously cultivated music production techniques to integrate them into painting. It can be noted that sound has always been an essential accompaniment to Dukic, arising episodically — at times fiercer, at times subtler. Similar to a frequency that is deeply influenced by existence itself and therefore never adheres to a steady wave or vibration. Through this very direct approach, resulting in a concrete alteration, Dukic discloses a wealth of possibilities, explorations, procedures — thereby generating a unique space for expression — which the artist investigates in a myriad of different modes. Both phenomenons, accident and self-sufficiency, are components of Dukic musical production and painterly practice. With Dukic three NFTs, he was interested in associating both, image and sound, to create a special form of synthesis. At the same time, it is essential to keep in mind that his process of linking remains experimental in nature. As such, it is not intended to claim completeness or absoluteness.
After a considerable abstinence from producing music Dukic purchased new speakers. The speakers, which seem like monumental columns in his studio, and the magical, almost sacred, Moog Synamp enhance and refine the sound in an unmistakable way and guided Dukic back towards sound production. For Dukic, it was a necessity to combine both elements that fascinate him so strongly. The question of whether and how this is possible or not, however, remains for everyone to decide. The three NFTs “BURN BLOCKCHAIN”, “SWONS” and “TINNITUS” act as fragments of a cycle. The soundscapes offer multiple degrees of accessibility. Through the interplay of sound and image, bleak, remote sceneries/territories unfold, transmitting multifaceted emotions, exacerbating or even depicting transgressive sensations. After all, Dukic’s main interest is to elicit a sensation — whether positive or negative — to provoke a stimulus — which travels along all nerves and ultimately ends up in the mental sphere.
The experiment of the experiment leads to the further experiment…
To watch all NFTs and discover our other artist vistit https://www.prtl.art/artists/dejan-dukic
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