Igor Grubic – Monument
Croacia 50:00Synopsis: Monument is a poetic-experimental documentary, structured as a series of nine meditative ‘portraits’ of the massive concrete memorials commissioned by the former Yugoslav state. These sentinel forms were originally built to honour the Second World War victims of fascism.
During the Balkans war of the 1990s thousands of these monuments, perceived only as monoliths of abandoned Communist ideology, were destroyed on the territory of ex- Yugoslav state. The attempt to erase these structures was the starting point for this film, which focuses on the conditions and ‘life’ of a group of monuments.
Emphasizing the unexpected fragility of these monumental structures, the director places human attempts to fix meaning against a backdrop of seasonal change. In a landscape that has witnessed cycles of trauma and upheaval, this film mirrors the rise and fall of many monuments built to preserve the memory of events that might otherwise be forgotten.
As a poetic-experimental documentary, Monument creates an existential, or even spiritual, resonance with the political issues, questioning the purpose of monuments today.
Bio: Igor Grubic (born in 1969, lives and works in Zagreb) has been active as a multimedia artist since 1995. His work includes site-specific interventions in public spaces, performances, photography and films. He is known for his activism and his consideration about public space as a means of expression. In 2000, he started to work as a producer and author of documentaries, TV reportages and socially committed commercials. His work has been exhibited in various international institutions and at different artistic and cultural events and garnered with several prestigious awards.