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SANDRO ĐUKIĆThe Silence That Tore Down The Monument
22.4. – 29.5.2024
OPENING: 22.4.2024, 6 - 9 PM
The artist and the project team are present.
LOCATION:
galerie michaela stock, Praterstraße 17, 1020 Vienna, Austria
The silence That Tore Down The Monument is an art project by the Croatian artist Sandro Đukić, serving as a multimedia reconstruction of the once-demolished anti-fascist monument made by modernist sculptor Vojin Bakić.
The exhibition includes various elements such as graphics video animation, and photo-video documentation, meticulously curated to illuminate the monument's rich history and the circumstances of its demolition. Additionally, a documentary film delves into the origins of the project, providing valuable context. In a notable event in 2023, a temporary installation of the monument was recreated at its original site in Croatia, presented on a twenty-meter LED screen. This stunning multimedia display, masterminded by Sandro Đukić, symbolizes a significant cultural response to the systematic erasure of history and societal amnesia surrounding symbols, culture, art, and social paradigms. Additionally, the incorporation of augmented reality technology allows visitors to observe with a QR code the virtual 3D monument in the gallery space, further emphasizing the project's aim to bridge past and present through artistic expression.
The story behind the monument's destruction adds layers of complexity to the project. Constructed from 1958 to 1968, Vojin Bakić's monumental sculpture, "The Monument to the Victory of the People of Slavonia" once stood as Europe's largest abstract, anti-fascist monument in Kamenska, Croatia. It was a thirty-meter-high stainless-steel monument. However, in 1992, members of the Croatian army demolished it using nine times dynamite, despite official reports blaming the collapse on strong winds. Three decades later, the project team discovered meteorological data proving there was no wind that day. The air was so calm that it was officially termed "Silence" by the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. This silence, along with the lack of government reaction, inspired the project's name "The Silence That Tore Down The Monument".
During the tumultuous 90s in former Yugoslavia, a culture of Damnatio Memoriae and collective amnesia took hold. Yet, even in his earlier works, Đukić urged us to challenge the notion of decline and neglect, especially concerning the disappearance of modernist and industrial heritage. Đukić's collaboration with the local community, other artists, and technological experts highlights his dedication in this new art project to reconstruct the monument and delve into the intersection of art, technology, and social memory.
In The Silence That Tore Down the Monument Đukić uses a visual approach marked by combining old materials and reimagining artistic traditions with new media techniques. In the context of widespread revisionism that has erased anti-fascist history across Europe, Sandro Đukić's installation and its digital reproductions serve as a powerful counterforce. His work, inspired by earlier analogue masters and the graphics of Julije Knifer, champions modernist artistic thought using new digital media and technology. He sees the voids left by destruction, such as Bakić's original sculpture, as chances for rejuvenation. With virtual creations and Augmented Reality, collective memory and artistic vision revive these empty spaces.
In addition to Sandro Đukić, the project team included: Milorad Pupovac (project concept), Davorka Perić, (project curator) and Lana Lovrenčić (author of the discursive program).
Project was produced with support of Serb National Council.
Excerpts from the text by Davorka Perić
www.galerie-stock.net
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Praterstrasse 17, 1020, Praterstraße 17, 1020 Wien, Österreich,Wien, Österreich, Austria