The installation is a sort of sketchbook of research of handicraft and memory. The motifs embroidered on the tarp were taken from pre-war family photos from the garden in the author’s native Vukovar, where he spent a lot of time with his family as a child. Since he left Vukovar at an early age and my memories are related more to photographs than to his own memory, in his work he investigates its (in)constancy. Researching handicraft, which has been present in his family for years, he deals with the question of his own family history and identity.
Željko Beljan received his MA from the Department of Animated Film and New Media, Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb, Croatia in 2021. Interested in craft, folk art, outsider art, traditional handicraft techniques, and their position and perception in the contemporary art world, Beljan also uses his work to express, explore, and question ideas about identity. He has exhibited his work in Croatia and abroad.
Photo: Maša Pirc / BIEN 2023
