• born in 1956 in Windsor, Ontario
• parents emigrated from Serbia
• B.F.A., University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (1980); M.F.A., Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia (1980-82)

click on thumbnails at left to view larger images

Danica Jojich's travels in Serbia, where she met both her parents' families and experienced life there through her relatives, left an indelible mark on her which continues to impress itself in her artwork. Jojich dedicates her works to people she cares for, introducing a very personal narrative into each installation. She uses common, everyday objects like clothes racks, pillows, newspapers, linen, and felt to present socio-political topics within a context familiar to the viewer. Despite the comfortable atmosphere created by "home-made" objects, Jojich asks the viewer to examine the way they look and understand these objects. Larger issues such as family, immigration, war and feminism can be found embedded in her manipulation of this material. The personal speaks of the political in her art. In her wearable pieces, from her Armed to be Allowed (1990) series, the domestic narrative is purposely interwoven with the political one, opening up unlimited identifications and associations both private and public. Arms Control, for example, represents the military arms race, Shake examines marriage, Cold War politics, feminism, and conflict, and Brace reflects feminism, gender issues, and cultural assumptions. The newspaper photographs accompanying each piece represent the media's presence in every home conveying images and ideas about global events. They are cropped into smaller sections in order to allow the viewer to see each part of the image in greater detail. In her work To Honour (1994), Jojich uses a bronze condom to represent AIDS-related deaths. The piece acts as a memorial while demonstrating that the condom, designed to save and protect people, can do nothing more than remind the viewer of their loss. The frustration and futility of this "token, kept close at hand, to caress" (Jojich, 1994) becomes clear when the viewer is left rubbing a cold piece of bronze rather than the soft flesh of a loved one. Jojich's Marble Pillows (1995-1996) series stems from the loss of her father and her grieving process while also dealing with narratives such as death, cultural heritage, religion, a sense of place, and disease. One of the components of this installation is a photograph, affixed to a clothes drying rack, of the artist resting her head on a carved marble pillow located in the cemetery next to her father’s headstone. A marble pillow appears adjacent to this photograph, enabling the viewer to lay their head on the stone as a means of mirroring the artist. Jojich invites the viewer to partake in mourning, by bringing their own experiences of loss to the art work. A video camera close to the furniture records people who wish to add their stories to this installation. At the end of the week these stories were added to the initial video tape. This video incorporated footage of the artist speaking about the loss of her father, the birth of her daughter Una as well as allusions to Serbian culture and the war in Bosnia. In addition to her artwork, Jojich has taught at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1980-82, 1989) at the University of Guelph (1988) and Concordia University (1989-present). In 1990 she curated Depotheque, a show of eleven installation artists in a Montréal warehouse.

Susan Watterson, Montréal, Québec

A.K.A. Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Struts Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick

Optica, Montréal, Québec

Centre d'Art Belgo #330, Montréal, Québec

Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia Univeristy, Montréal, Québec

City Centre Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Mall Show: Sculpture Expo '94
St. Mary's University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nove Scotia

Articule, Montréal, Québec

Concordia Art Gallery, Montréal, Québec

Video and Film Series, Montréal, Québec

Let there Be Light and Colour
Cornerbrook Arts and Culture Centre, Cornerbrook, Newfoundland; St. John's, New Brunswick

Centre for Art Tapes, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Centre for Art Tapes, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Busby, Cathy, et al. How Do I Look?/: A Video and Film Series. Montréal, Québec: Concordia University, Fine Arts and Communication Studies, 1992.

Catchlove, Lucinda. "Safe art. A Day Without Art is like a day without sunshine." Hour 2, no. 44 (December 1 1994): n.p.

Clark, Andrew. "Danica Jojich, is that a helmet in your pants or are you just glad to see me?" Eye 32 (27 February 1992): n.p.

Cronin, Ray. The Mall Show: Sculpture Expo '94. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Saint Mary's University Art Gallery, 1996.

"Danica Jojich. Fuckin Reduction." C Magazine 39 (Fall 1993): 75-99.

"Danica Jojich, Susan Watterson. Montréal." Parachute 78 (April - June 1995): 54-56.

Eden, David. "Casting the condom with care." XTRA! 32, no. 263 (November 25 1994)

Fisher, Jennifer. "Relational sense, towards a haptic aesthetics." Parachute 87 (1997): 4-11

Gill, Dennis. "Ultravision." Vanguard 13, no. 4 (May 1984): 51.

Hanna, Deirdre. NOW 2, no. 28 (12-18 March 1992): n.p.

Jojich, Danica. Hand Held Sculpture Reminders Series. Montréal, Québec: Danica Jojich, 1996.

---. "An interview with Colin Cina." Harbour Magazine of Art and Everyday Life 2, no.2 (Winter 1993): n.p.

---, and Terry Constantino. Danica Jojich: Armed to Be Allowed. Toronto, Ontario: Gallery 44, 1992.

Kiendl, Anthony, et al. Danica Jojich Marble Pillows. Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster Museum of Art, 1996.

Marks, Laura U. "In the Seam/En Couture." Fuse 117, no. 3 (Spring 1994):42-43.

Metcalfe, Robin. "Sculpture Expo '94: The Mall Show." Canadian Art 11, no. 4 (Winter 1994): 81-83.