The Arrangement is a series of photographic portraits of flower arrangements created by the artist in collaboration with key stakeholders in the international human rights community, including judicial and political bodies that play a vital role in upholding human rights principles and international justice. 

The artist invited individuals currently serving in these organisations and judicial and political bodies, to select a single flower to be considered for a floral arrangement to be displayed on a conference table during a meeting dedicated to discussing the human rights issue they personally deem as the most pressing and urgent in today's context.

The flowers were gathered into floral arrangements that the artist photographed in the style of vanitas painting, where still life imagery of transitory items is juxtaposed with symbols that serve as poignant reminders of life’s impermanence and draw attention to the danger of the erosion of humanity’s
achievements.

Central to Cibic's exploration is the interplay between power dynamics and the symbolism of flowers, a recurring motif within her body of work. By focusing on the historical role of flower arrangements as scenographic elements that conferred symbolic legitimacy and status upon various forms of authority, the artist delves into the intricate relationship between visual representation and perceived power structures.

Throughout history, flowers have held profound symbolic significance, often serving as visual markers of prestige and authority in ceremonial contexts. Their enduring presence at events such as political treaty signings, peace negotiations, and other symbolic milestones underscores their role as potent symbols that stand in for what is perceived as the apex of human achievement and evolution.

Through The Arrangement, Cibic endeavours to create a contemplative space that invites viewers to ponder the fragility of the humanist landscape in our current era of profound global challenges. By orchestrating a performative exchange between the artist and a distinguished array of human rights stakeholders, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), DROI Subcommittee on Human Rights at the European Parliament, UN Human Rights Advisory Committee, and the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies, the project seeks to offer an evocative portrayal of the most urgent contemporary crises facing our world today. 

Jasmina Cibic (b. Ljubljana 1979) works in film, sculpture, performance and installation to explore ‘soft power’ – how political rhetoric is deployed through art and architecture, particularly examining how cultural production is used by the state to communicate certain principles and aspirations. Through unfolding the complex entanglements of art, gender and state power, the artist encourages viewers to consider the strategies employed in the construction of national culture.

Gathering together symbols and iconographies, Cibic’s projects present a synthesis of gesture, stagecraft and re-enactment. Realised in films and installations, her on-going performative practice is an ‘enacted’ exercise in the dissection of statecraft. Her multi-layered approach draws together primary sources and falsified narratives. This wilful overwriting creates shifting meanings and highlights historical uncertainties and untruths, especially in the gendering of the past. Cibic plays a double-game, at once decoding mechanisms of power whilst building her own allegorical structures.

Jasmina Cibic represented Slovenia at the 55th Venice Biennial with her project “For Our Economy and Culture”. Her recent exhibitions include solo shows at: Belvedere 21 Vienna, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, High Line New York, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, macLyon, Museum Sztuki Łódź, Museum of Contemporary Art Ljubljana, CCA Glasgow, Phi Foundation Montreal, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art Gateshead, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Aarhus 2017, Esker Foundation Calgary, Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, MGLC Ljubljana and Ludwig Museum Budapest along with group exhibitions at IMMA Dublin, Biennale Jogja, Innsbruck Biennial, MAC Belfast, Chicago Architectural Biennial, MAXXI Rome, MOMA NY, MUMA Monash Museum, CCS BARD, Marta Herford and Guangdong Museum of Art China. Cibic’s films have been screened at Whitechapel Gallery, MOMA New York, London Film Festival, HKW Berlin, Louvre, Dokfest Kassel and Copenhagen International Documentary Festival. Cibic was the winner of the Aesthetica Film Festival Award (2024), Jarman Award (2021), B3 Biennial of the Moving Image Award (2020) and MAC International Ulster Bank and Charlottenborg Fonden awards (2016).