Aleksandra Domanović's Art Explores Yugoslav Memory and Digital Heritage

Aleksandra Domanović's practice delves into the intersections of technology, memory, and national identity, often rooted in the former Yugoslavia. Her ongoing project 19:30, initiated in 2010, compiles evening news idents from the region dating back to 1958, which DJs remix into techno tracks, blending collective nostalgia with historical rupture. Another work involves paper-stack sculptures that memorialize the 2010 removal of the .yu domain from the internet, featuring images of violent football fans from the area. These physical pieces, alongside digital forms, reflect her dual role as a cultural anthropologist. The video essay Turbo Sculpture, created between 2009 and 2012, examines Eastern Europe's trend of erecting glitzy monuments to celebrities like Rocky, Jackie Chan, and Tarzan instead of traditional heroes, highlighting shifts in cultural identity post-war. For the 2012 Marrakech Biennale, Domanović planned a turbo sculpture variant: a socialist monument covered in tadelakt stone, a Moroccan finishing technique used in palaces and hammams. Her work consistently captures moments where national struggles surface in cultural expressions, using archives, sculptures, and online platforms to explore themes of loss and celebration.