"Letters from the Frontiers, Nostradamus on the Market, Behind the Scenes" (2023)
Black foil letters across the market
At the end of the 20th century, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the city of Sarajevo survived the longest siege in the history of modern warfare. It was three times longer than the Battle of Stalingrad, more than a year longer than the Siege of Leningrad, and was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.
For the Survival Kit 14 festival the artist has extracted text fragments from the so-called
"Survival Guide" which is based on evidence from the 1992–1996 siege of Sarajevo, referencing a historic publication that went by the name "The Art of Survival". Overlaid on the windows and other surfaces of the former market, the phrases become an eerie reminder of the enormous disruption created by war and relentless human resilience at the same time.
The artist's work can also be seen in the sister-exhibition Long-distance Friendships at the 14th Kaunas Biennial.
/ Photo credit: Kristīne Madjare / Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art