YOUNG PARTISAN WOMAN sculpture – plaster, car paint spray, dimensions 80 x 40 x 37 cm, Belgrade, 2008. In this piece, I try to achieve ultimate kitsch in a similar way as in RGB. I combine a traditional image of a hero (the sculpture of a hero from the Yugoslav National Liberation Movement) and an image of manga (hentai) heroine from Japanese comics. This character is inspired by the ideals which my generation tried to live up to – ideas of freedom, justice, brotherhood among men and dedicated struggle for these values. Apart from being a victorious fighter, the partisan woman was a sex symbol as well. The idea of the “bust” (overaccentuated in this case), is merged with the image of modern heroes from manga comics in order to create a so-called character – a person whose personality is expressed exclusively through external attributes (a uniform, a soldier cap). Quasi-traditional image of a hero also represents my contemplation of the treatment the art of sculpture has been receiving in Serbia lately, that is, the generally accepted popular idea of a bust which represents an image of a hero, and further, of the very idea of a hero, heroic deed and sacrifice, and while doing so, I have shifted the traditional image from the expected male area into “invisible” female. Furthermore, my idea of a young partisan woman is also an attempt to deal with my family history and ambivalent feelings about the role of partisans in the Second World War. This is why I choose Japanese comics and art of Takashi Murakami and other Japanese contemporary artists ( sculptors primarily) as a reference, in attempt to depict sense of confused national identity. So if the question should be what is the connection between Japanese manga comics and Yugoslav National Liberation Movement, the answer would be – absolutely none.