U najnovijem slikarskom ciklusu Natalije Borčić Peuc, topografija otoka Visa – njegovi tuneli, osmatračnice i ruševni vojni kompleksi – ne služe tek kao zanimljivi prizori, nego radije kao svojevrsni epistemološki alat. Ovdje pejzaž nije izvanjski, nego unutarnji: mapiranje psihogeografije, povijesti i osjećaja koje slikarska površina tek treba prizvati. Slika se pojavljuje kao polje susreta memorije, traume i materijalnosti.
U suvremenom kontekstu slikarstva, pejzaž se više ne doživljava kao puka reprezentacija prirodnog prostora ili statičan pogled iz određene točke. Umjesto toga, on se artikulira kao kompleksna epistemološka i afektivna matrica unutar koje se isprepliću memorijski slojevi, emocionalna iskustva, ekološke svijesti i politički narativi. Današnji pejzaž, dakako, prelazi granice mimetičke funkcije; on postaje prostor spekulacije, osjetila i kritičkog mišljenja – svojevrsna vizualna osmatračnica koja omogućuje promišljanje stvarnosti iznutra, kroz prizmu povijesnog sedimenta i emocionalne (samo) refleksije.
Jedan od dominantnih pravaca u recentnim slikarskim praksama jest tzv. ekološki pejzaž, koji reagira na urgentne izazove antropocena i globalne klimatske disrupcije. U ovom okviru umjetnici ne prikazuju prirodu kao idilični prostor, nego interveniraju u njezinu reprezentaciju kroz prizore devastacije, distopijske vizije postprirodnog svijeta i estetski artikulirane komentare o klimatskoj neizvjesnosti.
S paralelnim intenzitetom razvija se i takozvani postmemorijski pejzaž, koji upisuje tragove povijesnih trauma, nestalih prostora i kolektivnih gubitaka. Ovdje pejzaž funkcionira ne kao vizualna rekonstrukcija, nego kao taktilna i introspektivna ploha koja rezonira odsutnostima. Takvi radovi često evociraju lokacije koje su iščezle iz kolektivnih sjećanja, a njihova nijemost nosi težinu onoga što se dogodilo, ali što više nije vidljivo ili posredno prisutno.
Još jedan značajan pravac jest afektivni pejzaž, usmjeren na subjektivno percipirane prostore unutarnjih stanja, tjelesnih senzacija i intimnih memorija. Estetske strategije u ovom pristupu često brišu granice između figuracije i apstrakcije, stvarajući vizualne površine koje nisu reprezentacije, nego ekspresije unutarnje topografije. Pejzaž postaje stanoviti produžetak osjeta – slikovna koreografija emocionalnog doživljaja.
Unutar ovih suvremenih tendencija, likovni opus Natalije Borčić Peuc, osobito njezin najnoviji ciklus inspiriran vojnom infrastrukturom otoka Visa, pozicionira se na sjecištima postmemorijskog i afektivnog pejzaža. Istražujući prostore napuštenih tunela i osmatračnica, autorica ne rekonstruira njihov izgled, nego evocira njihovu povijesno-emocionalnu važnost. Njezine slike nisu narativne ilustracije, nego materijalizirane senzacije – prostori u kojima boja, tekstura i trag pigmenta nose memoriju tišine, kontrole i zaborava. Istodobno, njezino slikarstvo možemo iščitavati i kao ekološki angažirano, jer preispituje tragove ljudske prisutnosti, degradacije prostora i utjecaja militarizirane povijesti na okoliš – tematski i materijalno odražavajući vizualne i taktilne simptome antropocena.
Korištenjem nekonvencionalnih slikarskih postupaka – kiselina, emulzija i organski razlivenih pigmenata – umjetnica stvara radove koji su bliži svojevrsnoj arheologiji osjećaja nego dokumentarnoj reprezentaciji. Njezina umjetnička gesta ne proizlazi samo iz motiva viških krajobraza, nego iz sedimenta – pejzaž se ovdje ne gleda, nego se u nj uranja. On postaje medij introspektivne spoznaje, prizor onoga što ostaje nakon što prostor nestane: osjećaj, trag, odjek.
Naposljetku, pejzaž kod Natalije Borčić Peuc ne funkcionira kao pogled prema van, nego kao taktilno i osjetilno iskustvo – u njega se uranja poput kupača koji ulazi u rashlađeni tunel tijekom sparnih ljetnih dana. Nije riječ samo o promatranju i slikanju motiva nego o fizičkoj i emocionalnoj aktivaciji prostora slike; radovi autorice pozivaju na introspektivnu percepciju, gdje svaka slikovna površina nosi trag afektivne rezonance i kolektivne memorije.
U slikama Natalije Borčić Peuc prevladavaju hladni plavo-zeleni tonovi koji prizivaju vlagu i sjenu podzemnih prostora –njihove tjeskobe i smirenosti istodobno. Ta paleta nije tek kromatski odabir, nego senzorna evokacija: boja postaje temperatura, dubina, ozračje. Kao što tijelo osjeti promjenu zraka pri ulasku u tunel, tako i gledatelj “ulazi” u sliku kroz slojeve boje koji podsjećaju na alge, sol, koroziju i mineralne naslage. Plavo-zelena ovdje ne sugerira more, nego njegov odjek u zatvorenome – zatamnjenom prostoru gdje se svjetlo raspršuje, a pogled se mora prilagoditi mraku i tišini.
Unutar dominantne hladne palete plavo-zelenih tonova, Natalia Borčić uvodi iznenadne svjetlosne akcente – proplamsaje jarkih boja poput koraljno crvene, žute ili narančaste – koji djeluju poput iznenadnih bljeskova u tami tunela. Ti koloristički izboji ne razbijaju atmosferu slike, nego je aktiviraju: u njima se pojavlju-
ju tragovi prisutnosti – ljudske figure, kupaći kostimi, pokret tijela, fragmenti svakodnevice uhvaćeni u gustoj strukturi pigmenta. Oni funkcioniraju poput rezidua geste – slikovnih točaka koje apostrofiraju radnju, kretnju, ulazak i izlazak iz prostora. U tim svjetlosnim tragovima slika pulsira, pretvarajući se iz kontemplativnog pejzaža u prizorište mikroaktivnosti, nježnih pomaka i živih prisutnosti.
U skladu s mišljenjem Theodora W. Adorna, prema kojemu „umjetnost postaje istinska kada, lišena iluzije, zadrhti pod vlastitim proturječjima“ (Aesthetic Theory, str. 132), slike Natalije Borčić Peuc ne nude ni utjehu ni reprezentaciju, nego iskustvo koje ne potvrđuje stvarnost i kroz vlastitu unutarnju proturječnost otkriva ono što u stvarnosti nedostaje. One ne prikazuju svijet, nego ga iznova tvore u formi koja istodobno nosi tragove gubitka i mogućnosti.
U tom smislu, Natalijino slikarstvo ne potvrđuje zavičaj, ni sliku kao iluziju svijeta, nego njeguje njezinu unutarnju napetost: između sjećanja i pigmenta, između forme i rasapa, između prisutnosti i onoga što izmiče. Upravo to – kako piše Adorno – omogućuje umjetnosti da ne pomiruje, nego zadržava proturječje, da ostane vjerna njegovoj nerazrješivosti: da bude „istinska u svojoj neistinosti“, u onome što ne može izreći, ali može pokazati u tragu, teksturi, gesti.
Slikarstvo Natalije Borčić Peuc, prema tome, ne žali za izgubljenim svijetom, nego pokazuje da je slika i dalje moguće mjesto njegova traganja.
Leila Topić
TUNNELS, WATCHTOWERS, BUNKERS:
THE TOPOGRAPHY OF PAINTING
In Natalia Borčić Peuc’s latest series of paintings, the topography of the island of Vis — its tunnels, watchtowers, and dilapidated military complexes — functions not merely as intriguing motifs, but rather as a kind of epistemological tool. Here, the landscape is not external but internal: a mapping of psychogeography, history, and emotion that the painted surface has yet to evoke. The painting emerges as a meeting ground for memory, trauma, and materiality.
In contemporary painting, landscape is no longer perceived as a mere representation of natural space or a static view from a given vantage point. Instead, it is articulated as a complex epistemological and affective matrix in which layers of memory, emotional experience, ecological consciousness, and political narratives intertwine. Today’s landscape clearly exceeds the boundaries of mimetic function; it becomes a space of speculation, sensation, and critical thought – a kind of visual watchtower that allows for the reflection on reality from within, through the prism of historical sediment and emotional (self-)reflection.
One of the dominant directions in recent painterly practices is the so-called ecological landscape, which responds to the urgent challenges of the Anthropocene and global climate disruption. In this context, artists do not depict nature as an idyllic space but rather intervene in its representation through scenes of devastation, dystopian visions of the post-natural world, and aesthetically articulated commentary on climate uncertainty.
In parallel, the postmemorial landscape has emerged — one that inscribes traces of historical trauma, vanished spaces, and collective loss. Here, the landscape does not function as a visual reconstruction but as a tactile and introspective plane resonating with absences. Such works often evoke locations that have disappeared from collective memory, their silence bearing the weight of what happened but is no longer visible or directly present.
Another significant direction is the affective landscape, focused on subjectively perceived inner states, bodily sensations, and intimate memories. The aesthetic strategies in this approach often blur the boundaries between figuration and abstraction, creating visual surfaces that are not representations but expressions of internal topography. The landscape becomes a kind of extension of the senses – a pictorial choreography of emotional experience.
Within these contemporary tendencies, the painterly practice of Natalia Borčić Peuc — particularly her latest cycle inspired by the military infrastructure of the island of Vis — positions itself at the intersection of the postmemorial and affective landscape. Exploring the spaces of abandoned tunnels and watchtowers, the artist does not reconstruct their appearance but evokes their historical and emotional significance. Her paintings are not narrative illustrations, but materialised sensations – spaces where colour, texture, and the trace of pigment bear the memory of silence, control, and oblivion. At the same time, her painting can be read as ecologically engaged, questioning the traces of human presence, the degradation of space, and the impact of militarised history on the environment – both thematically and materially reflecting the visual and tactile symptoms of the Anthropocene.
By using unconventional painting methods – acids, emulsions, and organically spilt pigments – the artist creates works that are closer to a kind of archaeology of feeling than to documentary representation. Her artistic gesture does not stem solely from the motifs of the Vis landscape, but from its sediment – here, the landscape is not observed, but immersed in. It becomes a medium of introspective insight, a scene of what remains after space disappears: sensation, trace, echo.
Ultimately, in Natalia Borčić’s work, the landscape does not function as a view outward, but as a tactile and sensory experience – one immerses oneself in it like a bather entering a cool tunnel on a sweltering summer day. It is not merely a matter of observing and painting a motif, but of physically and emotionally activating the pictorial space; her works invite introspective perception, where every painted surface carries the trace of affective resonance and collective memory.
In Borčić’s paintings, cool blue-green tones dominate, evoking the moisture and shadow of underground spaces — their simultaneous anxiety and calm. This palette is not merely a chromatic choice but a sensory evocation: colour becomes temperature, depth, atmosphere. Just as the body senses a change in air upon entering a tunnel, the viewer “enters” the painting through layers of colour reminiscent of algae, salt, corrosion, and mineral deposits. The blue-green here does not suggest the sea, but its echo in a closed—darkened space where light diffuses and the gaze must adapt to darkness and silence.
Within the dominant cool palette of blue-green tones,
Borčić Peuc introduces sudden flashes of light — bursts of bright colours such as coral red, yellow, or orange — which act like sudden sparks in the darkness of the tunnel. These chromatic eruptions do not disrupt the atmosphere of the painting, but rather activate it: they bring forth traces of presence – human figures, bathing suits, bodily movements, fragments of daily life caught in the dense structure of pigment. They function like residues of gesture – pictorial points that emphasise action, movement, entry and exit from space. In these traces of light, the painting pulses, transforming from a contemplative landscape into a scene of micro-activity, gentle shifts, and vivid presences.
In line with Theodor W. Adorno’s idea that “art becomes truthful when, devoid of illusion, it trembles under the weight of its own contradictions” (Aesthetic Theory, p. 132), Borčić’s paintings offer neither consolation nor representation, but an experience that does not affirm reality and, through its internal contradictions, reveals what is lacking in that reality. They do not depict the world but recreate it in a form that simultaneously bears traces of loss and possibility.
In this sense, Borčić’s painting does not affirm a homeland, nor the painting as an illusion of the world, but nurtures its internal tension: between memory and pigment, between form and dissolution, between presence and what eludes it. It is precisely this –as Adorno writes – that enables art not to reconcile, but to retain contradiction, to remain faithful to its irreconcilability: to be “truthful in its untruth,” in what it cannot say but can show through trace, texture, and gesture.
Borčić’s painting, then, does not mourn a lost world but shows that painting is still a possible place for its search.
Leila Topić
NATALIA BORČIĆ PEUC, akademska slikarica, rođena je na otoku Visu 1989. godine. Diplomirala je na Akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u klasi prof. Matka Vekića u Zagrebu 2013. godine. Članica je HDLU-a i HZSU-a. Kreatorica je nagrade za 14. festival radiodrame Grand prix Marulić. Osmislila je umjetnički projekt „U trećoj brzini“ kroz kojeg vodi likovne i literarne radionice u Domovima za starije i nemoćne. Bavi se i ilustracijom te je ilustrirala mnogobrojne legende i priče otoka Visa. Izlagala je na mnogobrojnim samostalnim i skupnim izložbama u zemlji i inozemstvu te je sudjelovala na više umjetničkih rezidencija. Na 7. Bijenalu slikarstva dobila je nagradu „Mlada umjetnica 7. bijenala slikarstva“ i nagradu „Kontrapukt nagrada Vladimir Dodig Trokut , Iva Vraneković - umjetnici umjetniku“. Živi i radi na relaciji Zagreb – Vis.
NATALIA BORČIĆ PEUC, academic painter, was born on the island of Vis in 1989. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in the class of Prof. Matko Vekić in Zagreb in 2013. She is a member of the Croatian Association of Artists (HDLU) and the Croatian Freelance Artists Association (HZSU). She is the author of the award for the 14th International Festival Prix Marulić. She designed the art project “In third gear” through which she runs art and literary workshops in homes for the elderly. She is also an illustrator and has produced drawings for numerous legends and stories of the island of Vis. She exhibited at numerous solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad, as well as participated in several art colonies. At the 7th Biennial of Painting, she received the “Young Artist of the 7th Biennial of Painting” award and the “Kontrapukt award Vladimir Dodig Trokut, Iva Vraneković - artists to an artist”. She lives and works in both Zagreb and Vis.
