The exhibition of the Croatian artist Andreja Kulunčić, entitled “You Betrayed the Party Just When You Should Have Helped It”, opened at the Anca Poterașu Gallery in December, remains open to the public until January 26, 2025.
The exhibition “You Betrayed the Party Just When You Should Have Helped It”, curated by Irena Bekić and Anca Mihuleț, is a part of the project (In)Visible Traces. Artistic Memories of the Cold War, initiated by Documenta in Zagreb and organized together with the Romanian Association for Contemporary Art, Bucharest; Blockfrei, Vienna and The Bautzner Straße Dresden Memorial, Dresden. The project aims to engage artists, researchers, educators, policymakers, and citizens in reflecting, preserving and discussing European cultural heritage, focusing on neglected Cold War-era historical sites.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
”The political camps on the islands of Goli Otok and Sveti Grgur were established in 1949, after, in 1948, the Yugoslav state policy opposed the policy of the Informbiro, which was supporting the Russian domination. Conceived for the purpose of “re-education”, i.e. isolation and “neutralization” of political dissidents, the camp operated until 1956. During that period, over 13.000 men and 850 women were detained there.
With the art-research-activist project, You Betrayed the Party Just When You Should Have Helped It, visual artist Andreja Kulunčić reacts to the fact that in the dominant historical narrative about the Goli Otok political camp, as well as in public speech surrounding the theme, the existence of the women’s camp, as well as the specificities of the female experience of trauma are completely ignored. In collaboration with feminist anthropologist Renata Jambrešić Kirin and psychotherapist Dubravka Stijačić, the artist addresses this complex problem, strategically developing the project through several sections and directions.
The exhibition derived from the project focuses on the transformation of the female body subjected to oppression or trauma. Designed to generate a process that develops as the visitor experiences the exhibited works, it does not culminate in a reconstruction of the repression of women inmates, but rhizomatically spreads within the space and time of the exhibition.” – excerpt from the curatorial text
𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐊𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜̌𝐢𝐜́ is a visual artist who lives in Zagreb. She teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Department of New Media. Her art practice is based on the exploration of new models of sociability and communication situations, an interest in socially engaged themes, engagement with different audiences, and collaboration on collective projects. She sets up her own interdisciplinary networks, seeing artistic work as a research, process of cooperation and self-organization. Her work has been presented at major international exhibitions, such as Documenta11 (Kassel); Manifesta 4 (Frankfurt/Main); 8. Istanbul Biennial; Liverpool Biennial 04; 10. Triennale-India (New Delhi). At collective shows in museums, including Whitney Museum of American Art (New York); PS1 (New York); Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo – MUAC (Mexico City); Palais de Tokyo (Paris); Museum of Modern Art in Saint-Etienne, etc. At solo shows, including Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo – MUAC (Mexico City); Jorge B. Vargas Museum (Manila); Modern Gallery (Podgorica); Museo Madre (Napoli); Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka. Website: www.andreja.info
