As part of the Montenegrin Human Rights Film Festival FAST FORWARD, last night, before a large audience at the Montenegrin Cinematheque, artist Ilija Šoškić presented his work “PPP. Nine Hours Later”, a unique photographic cycle created just nine hours after the brutal murder of Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini. These photographs, taken at the very site of the crime, represent a valuable and disturbing historical document, as well as an intimate testimony to the bond between the two artists.
Known for his radical gestures and performative actions carried out in renowned European galleries precisely on the anniversary of Pasolini’s death, Šoškić finally performed a special action in Montenegro as well, at the Fast forward Festival, marking the 50th anniversary of Pasolini’s death. Within the exhibition space itself, he communicated memories of this tragic event with the audience, who had the opportunity to experience his work directly.
Following the performance, a documentary film – an art biography of Ilija Šoškić, Si e No – Yes and No, by Sanja Blečić, a long-time editor at RTCG, author of numerous documentary films and winner of two awards at the Bar TV Festival – was screened. Through archival materials, statements and analyses by artists and theorists, the film portrays his creative era and personal narratives.
The programme concluded with a discussion on Šoškić’s connection with Pasolini and his political, artistic and social significance in Italy in the 1970s, featuring contributions by director Andro Martinović and art historian Nela Gligorović.
“Collaboration with Ilija has changed and reshaped my curatorial practice. He is an artist whose production of work is the production of life itself,” emphasised Nela Gligorović.
She added that Šoškić’s practice is conceptual and marked by intermediality. “Ilija is a practitioner of deontological ethics – the ethics of duty. In a world that threatens to consume itself, it seems that society expects from us, and from all those working in culture, to emphasise the necessity of applying ethical principles. At the end of the film, Ilija mentioned otherness and difference, because every otherness is a variant of a fundamental category of social experience – a litmus test of that otherness,” Gligorović stated.
Despite everything currently happening in Montenegro, the scope and significance of Šoškić’s oeuvre remain beyond the everyday framework. “The monumentality of the oeuvre simply eludes our milieu. His work offers young people an example that it is possible to think and act differently, and elements from his practice, not only in art, but also in politics, philosophy and life, represent an inexhaustible territory that is quite autonomous,” Gligorović noted.
“The art Ilija Šoškić engages in is such that every performance represents a new act. I believe that is why these things are important, and I would congratulate the author of the film, Sanja Blečić,” said Andro Martinović.
He reflected on several impressions evoked in him by the film, Ilija’s work and his connection with Pasolini. He singled out three key issues, three common denominators of these two artists: place, meaning and the body.
Pasolini lost his “place”, while Ilija records images without sensationalism. “Why did he go there? Because of the spirit of the place – it is a place transformed by death,” Martinović emphasised.
The question of meaning is central in Pasolini’s films. “He sees it in struggle, and this relates to Ilija’s work and the pushing of the stone like Sisyphus. In his ‘trilogy of life’, based on great literary works, Pasolini takes on major themes and attempts to grasp the essential question,” Martinović explained.
The question of the body, on which Ilija relies as both an athlete and an artist, was equally important to Pasolini. “He dealt with the body in various, often provocative ways, reducing the human body to an object, to a commodity – which deeply connects the question of belief with what capitalism brings, something inseparable from fascism,” Martinović concluded.
The audience welcomed Šoškić with great enthusiasm, demonstrating how much they appreciate his long-standing work and his contribution to the affirmation of Montenegro on the international cultural scene. The warm reception and strong reactions from the audience were a moving confirmation that his professional integrity and achievements resonate with those who recognise the value of his authentic creative practice.
The FAST FORWARD Festival is open until 14 December, and the detailed festival programme and additional information can be found on the website https://ubrzaj.me/
Maja Marinović, Programme Associate