Alina, Olena, Lana and Jana by Tanya Cubric

Alina, Olena, Lana and Jana by Tanya Cubric

  • 26 Aug 2025 - 19 Sep 2025
  • Various Times
  • FREE
  • First Site Gallery
Storey Hall Basement, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne
event header image

Exploring how social contexts shape the psychological narratives we build about our lives, 'Alina, Olena, Lana and Jana' harnesses fantasy and play as tools of resistance to challenge oppressive societal stereotypes.

"Alina, Olena, Lana and Jana is a single-channel digital video work and installation. It is a re-imagining of four Eastern European characters that I played as an actress for various UK television and stage productions.

These characters were difficult for me to let go of. I began to dream around them and questioned what their liberation might look like. How could they become aspirational? Were they doomed? Using the tools of fantasy and play, I began to create new versions of these protagonists with SFX makeup artist and co-producer Erika Beiza, and I developed scenarios for their liberations with videographer and co-producer Klari Agar.

Together we shot the footage which enabled me to critique the medium of TV/film by utilising its own methods of production against itself. With regards to the performances, as I knew these characters inside-out having played them before, I wanted to unshackle them, so I performed them unscripted. I carried this ethos of playfulness into the editing room in order to take full ownership over their new narratives. I also wanted to address the viewer directly and gently implicate their role in the demand for these stories.”

- Tanya Cubric
 

Tanya Cubric (b.1991, Tiohtià:ke/Montréal) is a multidisciplinary artist of Balkan heritage working across performance, video and installation. She was raised between the UK and Serbia and graduated from RMIT in 2024, with a Master of Fine Art.

Drawing on her background in theatre and film, she uses satirical characters, improvised performances, ready-made materials, video, and sound to explore themes of power and otherness. Fantasy and play are used as forms of resistance to renarrativise oppressive societal stereotypes.

Recent achievements: Arts Council UK funding (2020-2021); Tropical Lab Artist Residency in Singapore (2023); ACMI X + RMIT Graduate Artist in Residence (2025-2026); forthcoming solo show at First Draft Gallery in Eora/Sydney 2025.

 

Image: Tanya Cubric, Alina, Olena, Lana and Jana, (still) 2024. Image courtesy of the artist. Video still by Klari Agar.

Opening hours

11am – 5pm Tuesday to Friday.

Closed on public holidays.

Share

Upcoming events

concentric-circles-reference-1220x732.jpg

The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Foundations, Pivots and Place

Icon / Small / CalendarCreated with Sketch. 05 Jun 2026 - 29 Aug 2026

'The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Foundations, Pivots and Place' positions Australia at the centre of an ambitious global dialogue on conceptual art, influence and the circulation of ideas. Instigated and directed by Dr Irene Barberis, the project demonstrates how Australian scholarship and curatorial innovation can actively shape international discourse surrounding one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.

the-switch-1220x732.jpg

Intercessions: On-Site with Axel Garay

Icon / Small / CalendarCreated with Sketch. 14 Jul 2026 - 09 Aug 2026

Axel Garay's immersive exhibition, 'Intercessions', draws together a suite of multimedia works to consider how the ‘algorithmic age’ is affecting our ability to truly immerse deeply with our world, materials and selves.

venturous-ref-3-1220x732.jpg

Venturous: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design

Icon / Small / CalendarCreated with Sketch. 31 Jul 2026 - 19 Sep 2026

VENTUROUS brings together the projects and design explorations of innovative contemporary architects and designers associated with the RMIT University School of Architecture & Urban Design’s groundbreaking design practice PhD program, over the last decade.

aboriginal flag float-starttorres strait flag float-start

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

Learn more about our commitment to Indigenous cultures