Distrusting Monuments. Art and the War In Former Yugoslavia

In recent times, the interaction between the scene of contemporary art and memorial culture has become increasingly intense; monuments have been destroyed, or altered, and new ones have been created. The movement of Black Lives Matter has become a symbol for a global tendency in which the relation between representation, memory and the writing of history has become an intensely debated matter of contention. But in the region of former Yugoslavia, this is something that has engaged artists ever since the end of the war. During the last few years there has been an increase of exhibitions and art works that involve themselves in the topic, a development simultaneous with protests against forms of historical revisionism. The scene of contemporary art has pointed to the fact that the writing of history is a process in flux in which an exact and judicious use of aesthetic means are needed.

The primary aim of this project is to research the development of a new kind of memory culture that has emerged in former Yugoslavia. The process of historicizing the wars in former Yugoslavia (1991-2001), as well as the Second World War, is still ongoing in the region and carries multiple perspectives, on a scale between nationalist ideology and transnationalist ideas of solidarity. Memory culture has come to involve a wide array of agents, materials and forms of expressions, rather than just state funded memorials and museums. Our primary research question is: in what way does contemporary art of the region — artists, artist groups and organizations —return to the memory and history of the wars today, and why is it still a matter of such strong contention? Are critical art practices becoming major alternative agents in the writing of history?

The project also has a secondary aim, which is concerned with a more general view of artistic interventions in the writing of history as a tendency on the transnational scene of contemporary art. These questions are far from limited to be of regional concern; Therefore, the visual historicizations and the alternative modes of writing history cross the distinction between regional and transnational. Moreover, given the ongoing dramatic shifts that surround memorials around the world, the production of art that addresses the conflicts surrounding memorial culture in former Yugoslavia serves as an example of the limits of the “memorialization of culture.” The critical perspective of a work of art has put in question received narratives of history, disputing simplified notions of nationalism and heroism, as well as symbolisms of identification and belonging.

The project is engaging in internal and external workshops and seminars throughout. An international conference will be held in 2024.

External events will be advertised on this blog in advance, and publications produced within the project will be published.