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Haris Begić (1995) was born in the year the civil war in his native country Bosnia and Herzegovina ended. Three decades later, he observes how the trauma still weighs heavily on society. As an artist he researches themes like identity and collective memory related to the aftermath of this war. To counter the violent past that continues to hold the country in its grip, he presents images and stories that reveal an completely different side to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Consisting of an installation and a book, among other things, Yugoslavian Space Program (2021) presents one of these alternative stories. It explores the largely unknown history the former Yugoslavia’s space program. Part of this extensive project is shown at Prospects.
The point of departure for Yugoslavian Space Program is the archive of the retired photographer Zvezdan, who reportedly worked for the Yugoslavian Space Program for many years. Begić’ presentation consists of images shot by Zvezdan, supplemented with his own, more recent photographs. It also includes original historical documents and objects belonging to pilots, researchers, illustrators, scientists, and journalist who were active around the same time as the space programme.
Begić paints a picture of former Yugoslavia as a technologically advanced society, an image that sharply contrasts with the scenes of war and destruction most people associate with this region. In this project he mixes fact with fiction. Although many of the objects in the presentation are original, the Yugoslavian Space Program and photographer Zvezdan are figments of the artist’s imagination.
Tekst: Sarah van Binsbergen
Translated from Dutch by Marie Louise Schoondergang (The Art of Translation)