ŽIVA

Being a frontwoman of one of the most successful Croatian rock bands Punčke, Lucija Ivšić is no stranger to the music scene. Her new bilingual music project ŽIVA [zhiva] establishes her as an Australia-based artist firmly rooted in her Slavonian heritage. Being raised in the fertile and green lands of the country, symbolically, the name itself translates as “being alive” and is an homage to the Slavic goddess of life and fertility. For this performance Lucija will present and rework her single ‘Power’ on the AirSticks 2.0 through hand gestures; the latest in a string of revolutionary musical instruments designed at Monash University’s SensiLab that allow musicians and dancers to trigger and manipulate sounds and visuals through body movement. Equipped with only a microphone, synths, and a laptop, she steps out of her comfort zone and continues to push the boundaries by combining elements of trip-hop, alternative R&B, and electronic music into an authentic Slavic-pop genre.

Lucija Ivsic (AU)
Emerging new media artist and researcher, composer, and experienced performer, Lucija is currently residing in Melbourne where she is undertaking her practice-based PhD at SensiLab, Monash University. Being a frontwoman of one of the most successful Croatian rock bands Punčke, she is no stranger to the art scene. At just 14 years old, Lucija formed Punčke, which over the course of a decade, became one of the most in-demand bands in the Balkans, releasing five critically acclaimed albums, being nominated for an MTV EMA Award in 2014, and playing over 400 shows worldwide. The new bilingual music project ŽIVA [zhiva] establishes her as an Australia-based artist firmly rooted in her Slavonian heritage. Residing at the crossroads of art, science, and technology, her installations and live performances blur the boundaries between physical and virtual realities, offering audiences new and immersive yet embodied experiences that explore a space’s capacity to engage on an emotional level. Lucija is also a founder of Cereal Booking, a music agency focused on supporting emerging artists, and holds a Master’s Degree in Geodesy and Geoinformatics from the University of Zagreb, where she specialized in remote sensing technology.