Harald Szeemann's 'Blood and Honey' Exhibition Explores Balkan Cultural Memory
In June 2003, Vienna hosted an exhibition called 'Blood and Honey – the Future's in the Balkans,' curated by Harald Szeemann. This event delved into the meaning and background of the term 'Balkan' and showcased art from various countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, among others. Szeemann offered an outside viewpoint on modern Balkan art, emphasizing cultural memories after the East-West divide in Europe. Among the highlighted works were Maja Bajevic's 'Women at Work – Washing up' from 2001, performed in Istanbul, and Vladimir Nikolic's video 'Rhythm,' which addressed nationalist issues. The exhibition aimed to confront historical traumas to foster future healing.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Blood and Honey – the Future's in the Balkans' curated by Harald Szeemann in Vienna, June 2003.
- The term 'Balkan' is derived from Turkish syllables BAL (honey) and KAN (blood).
- Works from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldavia, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia were exhibited.
- Maja Bajevic's performance 'Women at Work – Washing up' (2001) in Istanbul involved refugee women washing fabrics with Tito slogans.
- Vladimir Nikolic's video 'Rhythm' showed young people repeating the crucifix sign to techno music.
- Sanja Ivekovic's 'Nada Dimic File' featured the Croatian national heroine Nada Dimic, a female partisan executed in WWII.
- Sokol Bequiri's 'When the angels are late' (2001) depicted Abraham and Isaac alongside a documentary of a Serb cutting a Muslim's throat.
- Adrian Paci's 'Vajtojca' performed his own death ritual, including a professional mourner.
Entities
Artists
- Harald Szeemann
- Maja Bajevic
- Vladimir Nikolic
- Sanja Ivekovic
- Sokol Bequiri
- Adrian Paci
- Nedko Solakov
Institutions
- ARTMargins Online
Locations
- Vienna
- Austria
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Croatia
- Macedonia
- Moldavia
- Serbia
- Montenegro
- Slovenia
- Srebrenica