Greetings from Yugoslavia 2022 (2006-2021)
Presented on the shelf, Alen Aligrudic’s photographic work take the form of postcards from the country that no longer exists. The subjects depicted come from two serious photographs taken during the artists recurring road trips in what was once Yugoslavia. One of the series Strange Bedfellows / Jugolaboratoria takes for starting point personal investigation of Yugoslavia and “Yugoslavianness” in the light of the country’s recent history of war and extensive migration which has greatly changed thousands of people lives and sense of belonging.
The second series [un]familiar[ities] takes a more open and general approach to the relationship between the familiar and the foreign.
Given that the artist is no longer part of the society he portrays, his gaze is often directed at the changes undergone by the region. Thus, several scenes involve an interaction between remnants of the old socialist ideology and signes of a new (and more) capitalist model. Short texts on the back of the postcards convey the artist’s reflections on the ambiguous inherent in his chosen subject matter.
Flying in the face of history the title Greetings from Yugoslavia sees insist on the region as a unified cultural and geographical area. A sense of optimism and immediacy pervades the title, which mimics tourist’s joy in sharing their travel impressions but it also strikes a nostalgic – and utopian – note. With his camera Aligrudic has sought to map the land, but his record of landscapes, architecture, abondoned military and urban structures remains a fragmented story, which might point to the ultimate impossibility of the mission: there is never just one narrative about any given place.
From the catalogue
Connections – Danish Artist from Ex Yugoslavia
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
