Turbo Dioxide

I've been working on the multimedia project Turbo Dioxide with Mirko Zarkovic since 2019. The name of the project illustrates the hybridisation of regional turbo folk subculture that emerged in the late 80s, flourishing in the 90s during the Yugoslav wars. Turbo Dioxide documents the aftermath of this subculture, understanding it as some sort of turbo folk on steroids, similar to the ‘Squatting Slav’/gopnik aesthetic. For me, the project is a reinvestigation of male identity – and its roles in patriarchal Balkan society 'on steroids', especially in the Serbian context. From the position of a voyeur, I try to demystify this turbo-male image so as to get to know my own alter ego – one that could potentially fulfil social norms and expectations. The project started through posting images and videos on Instagram; it spontaneously became participatory, as people started to notice these codes and send in similar photographs. It gradually evolved into an extensive archive, which can be divided into four series: Turbo Dioxide aesthetics in public life; the most frequently worn New Yorker brand jacket in Novi Sad; public pissing; and screenshots of porn. Ironically, Turbo Dioxide later absorbed and implemented some elements of the aesthetic it questions – through the streetwear that Mirko and I now design and wear.