ZT Tosha
ZT Tosha is the pseudonym of Dutch/Yugoslavian artist Zoran Tosic – Tosha. Active since the late 1990s, Tosic is renowned for exploring the intricate relationship between human behavior and the environment. His work challenges conventional notions of subject matter and composition, blurring the boundaries between form and content. By manipulating classical imagery and traditional frameworks, Tosha creates a tension that highlights how the environment shapes behavior and perception. ZT Tosha’s art often relies on irrationality and the unconscious, expressing dissatisfaction with the prevailing norms of his time.
Guided by his beliefs about the transformative power of art, Tosha’s work reflects the passage of time and the gap between what individuals believe and what they encounter in reality.
As Tosha himself puts it:
“The work of art will remain permanently torn between past judgments and present suggestions if it cannot separate itself from them permanently.”
Shadows of Perception
In a space where beauty stands as an inherently subjective concept, intangible and resistant to conveyance, a compelling exploration unfolds at the crossroads of personal perception and shared understanding. Art emerges as a medium adept at bridging the chasm, translating the subtleties of individual aesthetic senses into a universally comprehensible language.
For the protagonist, the conviction in the profound influence of material possessions, time, and space on thought processes serves as a guiding principle. The acknowledgment that these realities mold their cognitive landscape leads to a realization—thinking is inseparable from these tangible elements. Yet, within this intricate interplay, the vastness of infinite time and space, while shaping thoughts, remains unseen and elusive.
Driven by the principle of “internal necessity,” the protagonist creates their artwork as a direct response to inner experiences. These inner echoes, which emotionally reverberate with the external world, undergo a transformative process, morphing into symbols that carry profound meaning and rich information. If these symbols are then presented objectively as images, they wield the ability to elicit aesthetic emotions in the viewer, creating a fusion that blurs the boundaries between the artist’s personal world and the shared experience of those who perceive the art. In essence, the artwork becomes a conduit through which personal emotions and universally relatable sentiments intertwine, creating a bridge between the intimate and the collective.
As the narrative unfolds, the story broadens its perspective on testimony and witnessing in the digital age. The ubiquity of cell phones and miniature cameras becomes a pervasive tool, empowering individuals not only to assert, “I was there; this is what I saw,” but to collectively bear witness through media. The cell phone, especially, takes center stage, casting the audience as both the ultimate addressee and primary producer. It transforms the collective into the subject and object of everyday witnessing, capturing and testifying to its own historical reality as it unfolds.
In this exploration of perception, art, and technology, the story navigates the ambiguity between the formal framework of images and their content. It delves into how individuals, armed with the tools of witnessing, contribute to the collective narrative, intertwining personal experiences with the shared historical reality. “Shadows of Perception” weaves together the threads of beauty, artistic expression, and digital witnessing into a narrative that transcends the boundaries of the personal and the collective.
