Vice Guru
2018 – 2020
video, ready-made, photos

Tourism
2018
video, HD 1080 p, color, 04′ 41“ loop

Front page
2019
ready-made: Slobodna Dalmacija, published: 22 May 2019, frame 70 × 50 × 2 cm

Instagram
2019 – 2020
photo collection

Vice Guru is an art project which explores contemporary alternative and spiritual practices, as well as the phenomenon of their social acceptance. Different well-being gurus and their practices promise instant solutions and through various manipulations, they gather many followers. Vice Tomasović approaches this topic extremely studiously. He takes on the role of guru, does his own research, and offers services and products of his fictional Basma Institute – Institute for Integrative Medicine and Holistic Healing. He uses the concept of mockumentary as his art form, in which he makes fun of such practices, but also he is fully immersed in his new role. For those uninformed, it is difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction in this art project. With the help of social media, the artist continues to build his role as a guru and his “influence”. Individuals, unaware that there is an art project in the background, contact the artist, asking him for help.
Vice Guru exposes the social problems and the problems within ourselves, the gullibility of individuals, and the lack of critical thinking. He criticizes consumerism in which lies and manipulations are legitimate sales methods.
Danijela Pavlinović