Trust No Thought Of Mine is the latest modular video work by Zeljko Vukicevic, also known as Zhel. This omnibus pays homage to Isidore Isou’s Venom and Eternity (1951), adopting Isou’s protest style—particularly through intertitles that act as provocative slogans on creativity, challenging and disrupting the viewer’s expectations.
Vukicevic incorporates Isou’s concept of “discrepant cinema” along with his own “lessons” style, intentionally misaligning audio and visual elements to unsettle the conventional narrative flow. These sequences are interspersed with abstract, nonsensical language in the Lettrist style, followed by foreign language segments with English translations—creating ambiguity around translation accuracy and the reliability of the language itself.
Although Isou’s influence is central to the film, Vukicevic also weaves in techniques that blend psychological themes with nuanced sociopolitical commentary. Together, these layers open a critical space for reflecting on communication and expression in contemporary media.
This is an invitation-only event. Those interested in attending should just write to the artist —either at zhelco@gmail.com, on Instagram (@zhel.weekly), or via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/zhel.net—whichever is easiest, providing their names
Zeljko Vukicevic, p.k.a. Zhel, is a multidisciplinary artist and a curator (Screamstation Fest) who works in experimental film and music. His practice investigates themes of anticipation, memory, and interruption in film and media, examining how remodelling content impacts its core message and influences expectations in relation to the spectator. Zhel has screened and performed worldwide, including at prestigious venues such as the ICA (London), FACT (Liverpool), Cafe OTO (London), and the Transmediale Festival (Berlin). He has also won awards such as the Octavian Award for best video and the jury award for best new director at the 9th DHF in Zagreb in 2000. In 2012, Zhel curated the Screamstation Fest, a film event exploring the relationship between sound and image.
Several of his short films have been archived at the British Film Institute (BFI) as part of the One Minute programme curated by Kerry Baldry. Zhel holds a master's degree in film theory from ARU University in Cambridge (2010) and researched film ethics through the lens of film sound from 2011 to 2014 as part of his doctoral studies. Born in Pula, Croatia, Zhel has been in the UK since 1999.
