A4 04th edition – Mak Hubjer and Božo Domazet / In the Shadow
Solo exhibition
4th edition of the exhibition as part of a long-term cooperation with the Museum of Fine Arts in Split.
MAK HUBJER – STATEMENT OF WORK
The work "In the Shadow" is an artistic research that I conducted in Split and Zagreb, and it refers to the relationship between public space and monumental values. The subject of this research are monuments that represent the figure and work of Dr. Franjo Tuđman, the first president of the Republic of Croatia and a central figure in the recent history of the country. The focus on monuments stems from the interest in public spaces as a separate place of remembrance, namely a space that makes memory the very act of monumentalization, while at the same time, through a general lack of engagement and reflection on the erected monuments, it creates a space of detachment from the past or even its forgetting, either partially or completely. Working with monuments, therefore, is an exploration of the construction, representation, and even preservation of memories in public spaces, and in extension of the same, it is also a study of collective discourses, narratives and (national) identities that are institutionally intertwined in the urban tissue by the monuments themselves that are being erected. Moreover, by dealing with the shadows of these moments of monumentalization, this study figuratively, semiotically, and even quite literally touches on the ways in which the past can become a shadow. As inevitable and inseparable companions, when are shadows places to hide, and when are places to hide?
FROM THE PREFACE OF THE EXHIBITION
"Prompted by the phenomena of ideological interference in public space, the work in front of you is a step in rethinking the complex relationship between monuments, memories and the space in which it is placed.
Two video installations are the core of Mak Hubjer's work, in which the author focuses on the very shadow of the monument, questioning its real, but even more symbolic nature with his further action. A seemingly fragile and unstable phenomenon becomes the focus and carrier of the entire dramaturgy and extremely complex narrative.
The installations show the process of clearing the shadow of the monument of Dr. Franjo Tuđman in the two largest Croatian cities, Zagreb and Split. This approach is actually an attempt to discover the tensions that are the basis, not only of certain historical narratives that are placed through art through public space, but also of multiple and unpredictable processes of distortion, reinterpretation and erasure. The associated elements are four smaller artistic interventions on the photograph of the monument in Zagreb, which in turn are accompanied by appropriate videos of the process of the performance itself....
....If we are able to look more closely, the shadow is actually an indicator of the life of the monument and everything that the monument implies, while with its cleaning or disappearance, the monument itself is fundamentally changed, almost negated.
At a time when the public space, which should be open, is closed with monuments and ideologies that raise them, the author's bold and original proposal represents a departure from the mere stylization of the problem and is a direct call to action, real action. The focus of the action is on solving the accumulated problems, even if in slow motion, one by one."
Božo Domazet
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Mak Hubjer (1993) is a visual artist and an artist of social practice. He has exhibited his works at numerous national and international exhibitions. He works on political and social topics through performative
and visual media. The works created in the studio are paintings and installations. He is a member of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists-Split. He is the founder and director of the Gallery of Contemporary Art Brodac-Sarajevo.
The exhibition was realized with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and Media and the City Office for Culture of the City of Zagreb.
You can see the exhibition in the Šira Gallery during the working hours of the Gallery (Mon-Fri: 9-16 h, 18-20 h, Saturdays: 11-16 h) until 30.03.2022.
