Submissive, 100x140cm, Dante Luka Žanetić

“The impulse to reveal one’s true self, the impulse to become vulnerable while being aware of the inevitable consequences.”

For the artist, the concept of “submissive” in this context is not connected to traditional power dynamics. Instead, it refers to the surrender required for another person to truly know someone.

The tension lies within the word knowledge—the desire to open up, accompanied by the awareness that doing so will come at a cost. Vulnerability becomes both a necessity and a trap.

Created in 2022, the work emerged during a period when the artist was learning to let people back into his life after a long time of maintaining distance.