Politics of Memory
Milica Tomic

Curatorial by Albert Heta

Opening: 11 September 2007, 20:00
11 September 2007 - 8 October 2007

The exhibition Politics of Memory, a curatorial work by Albert Heta is structured on two works by Milica Tomic: The Belgrade Monument (2002- ) work of a group of artists 'The Monument' part of which is Milica Tomic, and her other work 'Container' (2004-2006).

This is the first solo exhibition of Milica Tomic in the territory of ex-Yugoslavia since 1998.

The project 'The Belgrade Monument' is a work which discusses the challenges that artists community faced on opposing the fabrication of a history, that now didn't have to do with them anymore, and even with the times that they lived during the 90ties. By the end of 2001, the City Council for Monuments of Belgrade, agrees with the initiative to build a memorial for all the heroes of the 1990-1999. With an Open call for the Memorial, a joint debate starts concerning politics and art in Serbia. For this purpose a discussion group was created called 'The memorial'. After revising the Open Call including other organizations and Associations into the discussion (Association of war invalids, Association of war fighters from 1990 and Association of parents of the died soldiers from NATO bombing) it was decided to be suspended (December 2002).
This public debate has draw the intention to a wider public, the issue began being discussed in radios, televisions, critical and polemic writings in journals and also contributions from different electronic web portals.
This discussion on Memorial continued until May of 2006, where the issue of building the Memorial takes the dimension of urban planning 'Landscape - Park'.

Container is artistic project, developed on the idea of reconstructing the crime, a crime that happened in North Afghanistan. A massacre of 8.500 Taliban, slaves during the American invasion. The slaves were put in the truck container and have been held there without water and air, for several days. When they asked for some air, the American ally troops started to shoot in the direction of the container with the intention to create some holes through which the 'fresh air' would come in. the process of reconstructing this crime was done in different places like Belgrade, Sidney and England.

By simulating this crime the discussion on global violence, hypocrisy of American wars in the name of democracy and anti-terrorism opens by default.