Dear The Monuments Patrons Club Member

Throughout last year, I’ve worked intensely on the development of each chapter of The Monuments both as individual stories and as the overall concept of a durational project in the content of a complex visual narrative that unfolds across seventeen chapters. Five are done, which leaves me with twelve to go.

Chapter 1 / Silent Whispers of Thunder

Chapter 1 - Silent Whispers of Thunder started with the question “Have you ever wanted to walk into a sculpture?” This question plays a central role in JAŠA’s conceptual approach and to his understanding of artworks as a potential ephemeral space or even habitat. In the case of Chapter 1, this consisted of a door that was installed in the middle of the space. It was placed within a self-standing wall with a surrounding scaffolding structure holding it. The narrative circulated around the presence of various plants in pots which were carried around by a group of performers. The five-hour-long performance was filled with unclear menacing elements and suspense that was eventually punctuated by the entrance and brief presentation of a horse rider in a police uniform. 

 

Chapter 2 / The Last Dolphin

Chapter 2 - The Last Dolphin. The installation consisting of the wall holding the door, from Chapter 1 was reinstalled in order to frame the space as a room within the space. A select group of the members of the public entered it and stayed within the room for the entire duration of the event. A window was installed on one side of the installation, through which the audience within and without the space could observe each other. A musical performance gave a distinct atmosphere to the charged event. The group within the architectural sculpture eventually breached the locked door and got out.

 

Chapter 3 - For All Tomorrows’ Songs

Chapter 3 - For All Tomorrows’ Songs evolved around an installation of doors that were installed as a group of tables that displayed a series of small-scale sculptures that alluded to architectural sketches or presentations of possible monuments. Dynamics and the general atmosphere were dictated through various performances that happened sporadically and in parallel. Throughout the event, which developed as a dynamic social sculpture, various elements were changed, cooked, eaten, or imbibed. A cello player performed while being enclosed in a gradually built wall. This signaled the slow fade out of the choreography of the many elements.

 

Chapter 4 - I Alone

 Chapter 4 - I Alone. JAŠA transformed into his deceased grandmother, embodying the story of her secretive diary that was found post-mortem and which draws a contrasting image of someone who seemed, during her life, to be a cold and hardened post-war individual. Visitors walked among a display of various artworks that were relics of manifestations of longing, possession or grief. A sculptural installation included a section of a working kitchen, where the artist cooked traditional Slovenian beef soup and baked cookies. Visitors were invited to participate in a series of one-on-one performances during which the artist shifted between the roles, sometimes as himself and sometimes as his grandmother, unfolding the story and posing unanswered questions. The chapter concluded with a brief and intense punk music performance, with JAŠA still performing as his grandmother on vocals.

 

Chapter 5 - Boys & Guns

Chapter 5 - Boys & Guns, provided a clear anti-war stance modulating the space through the use of a video showing a man in a white shirt, white underpants, white socks, and wearing a humanized mask of a pig, while playing in an evidently erotic way with toy soldiers painted in shades of pink. The first three chapters took place on the ground floor. The fourth evolved on the fourth floor of Kühlhaus Berlin, while Chapter 5 took place within the central space of Kühlhaus Berlin, called Kubus, which stretches through the first, second, and third floors. Architectural volume was created by two central openings, made on the second and third floor, creating an impressive arena-like inner space. JAŠA installed the video from above in a way that embraced the entire floor area on the first floor and concentrated all the performances within, creating a visually striking situation with contrasting and dense performances.

“We can all go to the dark pockets of our minds and formulate destructive thoughts. One can make really meaningful art that emerges from envy, hate, and aggression. But politics? Death, pain, and destruction. We can all create realities. Which one do you choose? A loud voice that erupts from frustration rather than inspiration?”