For MADE UP, Cvijanovic drew on classical mnemonic systems developed by Renaissance thinker Giulio Camillo Delminio. In his L’Idea del Theatro (1550), Camillo described an encyclopedic memory aid in the form of an amphitheater, where images arranged across tiers served as triggers for recalling complex ideas. This “memory theatre” influenced later figures such as Giordano Bruno and may have informed the design of Shakespeare’s Globe. Like memory itself, it relied on personal associations, allowing symbols to resonate differently with each user.

Cvijanovic echoed this logic with four monumental paintings mounted to the sides of a four-meter cube. The scenes—a ramshackle studio dissolving into ocean, a concrete floor beneath a star-filled sky, a dilapidated green couch set against a barren Mediterranean landscape, and an epic waterfall—slid between the mundane, mythical, and spiritual. Their ease of transition encouraged free association, indebted to Surrealist strategies.

The work embodied both memory and creativity: disparate images suggested fragmented narratives while inviting viewers to reconfigure them. As one moved around the cube, shifting perspectives generated multiple readings, a Rubik’s cube of imagery where meaning emerged through constant recombination.