“New Past”
Recent destruction of the cultural and historical monuments of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia signaled the beginning of attempts to erase all physical traces of the past and memories thereof. By creating new past, all those elements considered undesirable or confronting to the newly established system of values have been gradually eliminated from collective memories and narratives of the past. In that way, over destruction and deliberate negligence of the monuments built to those who took part in the People's Liberation War (1941-1945), room has been created for the extensive public glorification of new heroes and/or victims.
Interpretation of the recent past has been closely connected to collective memories of the World War II. Mass war crimes committed during the war against Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) revived the traumas that were considered forgotten. Moreover, memories of war crimes committed in 1941-1945 influenced the shaping of our attitude towards
the crimes committed 20 years ago.
This is the reason why this set of drawings, made in the last 12 months, is entitled New Past. The use of documentary photography that predominantly depicts the images of World War II (that is not strictly related to the territory of the former SFRY) enabled indirect reconsideration of the present. Using fragments of documents from the past, in development of visual representations, an attempt was made to offer a fixed shape in terms of time and space.
The shaping of perception on the newly created social and political conditions through the lenses of the past is not only characteristic of Bosnia, yet due to the frequent repetition of cycles of destruction and reconstruction, the collective memory takes specific forms here. Hence, the revival of the traumatic past made the social interpretation of the more distant and recent past increasingly complex. In the end, collective memory is manipulated trough discriminatory selection between those who are entitled to their place in new history and those who have been permanently deprived from it.
Jasmina Gavrankapetanović-Redžić
“New Past”
Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts
Sarajevo, December 2011.
Recent destruction of the cultural and historical monuments of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia signaled the beginning of attempts to erase all physical traces of the past and memories thereof. By creating new past, all those elements considered undesirable or confronting to the newly established system of values have been gradually eliminated from collective memories and narratives of the past. In that way, over destruction and deliberate negligence of the monuments built to those who took part in the People's Liberation War (1941-1945), room has been created for the extensive public glorification of new heroes and/or victims.
Interpretation of the recent past has been closely connected to collective memories of the World War II. Mass war crimes committed during the war against Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) revived the traumas that were considered forgotten. Moreover, memories of war crimes committed in 1941-1945 influenced the shaping of our attitude towards
the crimes committed 20 years ago.
This is the reason why this set of drawings, made in the last 12 months, is entitled New Past. The use of documentary photography that predominantly depicts the images of World War II (that is not strictly related to the territory of the former SFRY) enabled indirect reconsideration of the present. Using fragments of documents from the past, in development of visual representations, an attempt was made to offer a fixed shape in terms of time and space.
The shaping of perception on the newly created social and political conditions through the lenses of the past is not only characteristic of Bosnia, yet due to the frequent repetition of cycles of destruction and reconstruction, the collective memory takes specific forms here. Hence, the revival of the traumatic past made the social interpretation of the more distant and recent past increasingly complex. In the end, collective memory is manipulated trough discriminatory selection between those who are entitled to their place in new history and those who have been permanently deprived from it.
Jasmina Gavrankapetanović-Redžić
“New Past”
Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts
Sarajevo, December 2011.
1. 'Figure regresije'. Mixed media on tracing paper. 70 x 100 cm. 2010
2. Untitled. Mixed media on tracing paper. 70 x 100 cm. 2011.
3. Untitled (Adolf. H). Mixed media on tracing paper. 70 x 100 cm. 2011.
Photo: Dragana Antonić
2. Untitled. Mixed media on tracing paper. 70 x 100 cm. 2011.
3. Untitled (Adolf. H). Mixed media on tracing paper. 70 x 100 cm. 2011.
Photo: Dragana Antonić