Memories of the Home, 2018

residency, site-specific light installation

In 2018 I was invited by International Centre for Graphic Arts - Ljubljana, Slovenia, as the first international residency artist of Švicarija Centre, to do a research on the identity of the building. Throughout the years, Švicarija acquired different identities, while its use changed. I focused on researching the hidden aspects of its history, in particular the collective coexistence of its users, and as a result I produced a light installation to reveal those hidden aspects.

Installation Text: Though set up as one of Ljubljana’s high-end places, it didn’t take long for the Swiss House to took on a life on its own. Artists, bohemians, vagabonds, Russian immigrants, “les miserable’s”, social tenants found themselves together in the Swiss House, in the little village, hidden in the woods, overlooking the city. In this remarkable period of the Swiss House, often overlooked as dirty or poor, all the various residents with their own backgrounds and stories were making friendships, solving conflicts, taking care of the House and its surroundings. Living on the edge of the forest, in harsh conditions, the people of the Swiss House were relying on each other. They have made the house their home and the House made them a community.

Research and interviews: Arne Zupančič

Special thanks to: Ivanka Jerman, Vojko Anzeljc, Bejza Bejtić Topalović, Ahmo and Denis Hašić, Petra Meterc, Alija Đogić and Nina Savič.  

#Crafted In Istanbul

Produced in Craft studios of Istanbul:
Turret Lathe: Nedim Köroğlu. Metal Lathe: Cemal Kabadayı. Wood Lathe: Muammer Çevik. Brass Master: Taylan Usta

“Home is where we ‘grow roots’, it is a place of intimate and collective memory, as well as a reference point of an individual and the community.”

Identities of a house: Švicarija and its inhabitants through time, Andrej Boštjančič.

Exhibition:

“Svicarija: Community, Art and Nature”, Švicarija Creative Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia“, MGLC_ Residence Artist, February 2018