The 33rd Salon of Architecture in Belgrade, having for its motto "The Signs of Life: Architecture around Us" was staged in the Museum of Applied Art from 24th March to 30th April 2011. This popular annual exhibition of architecture, which ranks among important Belgrade events, is aimed at promotion of both high quality architecture and architects from Serbia and abroad. The recognition award in the category of Experiment-Exploration was given to Ajla Selenic 's project Hyperborea.
"Hyperborea is an artistic research project exploring the evolvement of the creative process, as well the meaning and expressiveness of the ontological and poetic qualities of form and space, merging the realms of architecture, design and art. This research was based on an intuitive concept, initiated by the distinctive need of the author to be continuously focused and engaged in following the development of abstract intellectual and emotional content that emerges from the inner world of ideas, the seeds of any project. It reflects also an attempt to reach the higher level of the consciousness and capacity to comprehend the language of form and space which connects all areas of creativity (and particularly spheres of visual arts) in relation to philosophy, poetry and spiritual content.
The project commenced in 1996 as an exploration of the possibility to construct the space in an ontological sense, using the linearity as the basic and the only element, materialized in a metal thread. By inventing a special technique of manually bending straight metal thread it was created a potential to transform the linear element into the surface and consequently to transform the flat surface element into the three-dimensional, spatial models. Following a completely intuitive, non-systematic procedure of exploring the form, the emerged structure of consistent non-systematic pattern enabled the creating of transparent spatial objects transformed by light, that are both art installations and conceptual spatial models.
Using the process of transforming the linear element into the surface and further the surface into a three-dimensional form, many various structures and forms can be constructed ranging from miniature to the large scale, as well many functional design objects and products, spatial elements in the field of interior design, or even exterior membranes of the architectural objects can be designed and accomplished. Regardlessly of that potential, the meaning of this study was not focused solely on the practical application of the conceptual ideas, but is rather fulfilled by the very discovery of new methods of the creative processes and growth of sensitivity, comprehension and the spatial awareness of higher quality, based not only on functionality but also in the categories of artistic, poetic, spiritual and ontological.
In searching the meaning of creative work, in wider perspective all human commitments and ultimately meaning of life, one of the essential themes is the attempt of grasping the essence of time. Special manual technique which demands a great consistency, patience and devotion questions the essence of our relation towards the time. What we want to express in our creative work does not necessarily relates to the contemporary moment or usual time direction of past-present-future, but has another line of connecting the meaning within the space of timelessness."
Within the project Hyperborea several art exhibitions were realized in Helsinki/ Gallery Kari Kenetti in 1997, in Belgrade 2008/Belgrade Design Week, and exhibition Time in Man, Gallery Zvono in 2009. Special interest for this work was awaken in China where it was published in architectural reviews Architecture & Design Technique /ATD 2007.01 and Architecture Technique 2009.09.
