September the 2nd, 2024 – Croatian cartoonist Nik Titanik is known for his hilarious and provocative pieces of art, often mocking the political “elite” and whatever scandal is dominating the current week. He is set to open what’s being hailed as the “bravest exhibition”, showcasing his work, very soon.
Zagreb Info writes that on Monday, September the 16th, 2024, beginning at 19:00 the opening of the solo exhibition “Mi Hrvati/We, the Croats” by famous Croatian cartoonist Nik Titanik, will be held at the Vladimir Filakovac Gallery in Zagreb. The curator of the exhibition is art historian Sonja Švec Španjol.
A large retrospective exhibition entitled “Kronika hrvatske gluposti/A Chronicle of Croatian Stupidity” was held at Zagreb’s Mimara Museum back in September 2019, which marked 25 years of Croatian cartoonist Nik Titanic’s career. Over the five years that followed, that exhibition travelled around the country and visited a total of eleven cities, introducing the general public to his professional activities.
In 2024, Croatian cartoonist Nik Titanik will mark 30 years of his professional career with this upcoming solo exhibition. While the retrospective exhibition provided a broader insight into the development and changes in the author’s own handwriting and subject matter, the upcoming exhibition this month represents the culmination of everything that has happened over the last 30 years. It showcases what the Croats as a nation, as well as Nik Titanik as an avid chronicler of Croatian stupidity, have experienced living and working in this paradoxical country.
twelve portraits
Nik Titanik will present a total of twelve caricature portraits of the biggest Croatian stereotypes that we have had the “pleasure” to witness over the last 30 or so years of independent Croatian history. Along with them, caricatures of the former president, former and current presidents will take their place. A total of eighteen completely new works will be presented at this exhibition. The caricatures are provocative, but not offensive. Admittedly, everyone will be able to recognise themselves in at least one detail, which is precisely why the main slogan of the exhibition reads: “… because even great nations know how to make jokes at their own expense.” Is Croatia a great nation? It seems plenty of Croats like to think so.
“Nik Titanik perceives caricature as a corrective to society, and his well-known catchphrase: “Humour is a serious business”. That completely summarises the very core of his work. Croatian cartoonist Nik Titanik has successfully managed to capture incompetent politicians, social parasites, dubiously well-connected rich people, bureaucrats, scumbags of all kinds, speculators, fake Croats, primitivism, bribery and corruption across twelve impressive caricature portraits. At at the same time, these images represent the chronology of events that have played out in this country over the last thirty years.
We’re talking about those who form and support the government, and individuals who are an integral part of the loathsome Croatian bureaucracy and administration. In addition, the focus is also placed on those who represent public life and activity, embody new postulates of beauty, and over time have become symbols of new human values and aspirations. Each portrait is layered and mocks and deconstructs certain political, social and moral corruptions, providing a true critical correction of Croatian society.
Nik Titanik starts from reality, generalising the traits we associate with certain profiles of people, as well as the roles they play in society. With his sophisticated, insightful and sometimes sharp humour, Croatian cartoonist Nik Titanik summarises current phenomena and conditions in society by staging twelve stereotypes through which he touches on the rapid degradation of human moral values. He points out who gets to be placed in certain positions in leadership, and how and why. He delves deeper into what forms the basis of success in modern Croatian society – whether it’s about humanistic, pedagogical, educational, scientific and technological progress or about quasi-stars.
Croatian cartoonist nik titanik: direct but not offensive, provocative but not insulting
Nik Titanik’s caricatures are occasionally sharp, direct and provocative, but at the same time they aren’t offensive or vulgar. The talented artist doesn’t perceive his work as work but more as a way of life. For him, caricatures represent a critical correction of society, as well as personal therapy and a fight against the system in which we currently live. Nik Titanik processes and transforms everything he has experienced and learned into a caricature. Through stereotypes, he communicates his own traumas and experiences that he has experienced during thirty years of recording and commenting on political and social everyday life here in Croatia. At the same time, he doesn’t spare himself and points out that we’re all bloody under the skin and that we’ve all made mistakes, but at the same time we have the opportunity and the responsibility to come to self-knowledge through introspection and become better people,” said senior curator Sonja Švec Španjol.
The exhibition will remain open until October the 10th, 2024. After the ceremonial opening of the exhibition in Zagreb in September of this year, the “Mi Hrvati” exhibition will begin its journey through Croatia in 2025. The schedule for 2025 is already almost filled, and plans for 2026 are already being made.
croatian cartoonist nik titanik and “croatia – a survival kit for foreigners by paul bradbury and lauren simmonds
We were lucky enough to have the talented Nik Titanik design and create the cover for our 2022 book “Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners”, which is available for purchase on Amazon here. If you’re in Croatia, you can make your purchase here, here, and here.
