The exhibition “IN FORMATION IN LIQUIDATION” on the unfinished University Hospital Zagreb displays the rich archival material collected and processed by the MONTAЖ$TROJ collective as part of the multiannual interdisciplinary project “UNFINISHED.” Participants of the project include citizens of Zagreb, experts in the fields of healthcare, medicine, politics, construction, economy, journalism…
This is a hospital that, in terms of complexity, scope and method of realization, was and still is one of the biggest and most complex ventures in the history of Zagreb and Croatia. Construction funds had been collected from the citizens of Zagreb over the period of 10 years through a voluntary tax decided on by the citizens in two referendums: in 1982 and 1987.
The foundation stone of the “hospital for the 21st century, which will withstand a magnitude-9 earthquake” was laid on May 11, 1985 to mark the 40th anniversary of the victory over fascism. On the same day 35 years later, the exhibition “IN FORMATION IN LIQUIDATION” opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, titled after the current legal status of the former investor – Work Organization “University Hospital Zagreb in Formation.”
The exhibit comprises photographs, official documents, propaganda and video materials and a selection from hundreds of newspaper headlines placed on a timeline that follows the construction of the hospital, from the formation of the work organization (the investor) in 1982 to the beginning of the liquidation process in June 1995. The exhibition is rounded off by an original model of the hospital in Blato, important not only as an archival document but also as a work of art in its own right. This is its second public display since it was first exhibited in March 1984 at Old City Hall before construction began.
The exhibition “IN FORMATION IN LIQUIDATION” stimulates a discussion on the role of public health and the consequences of its liberalization on the example of the abandoned and forgotten hospital in Blato whose fate is still unknown despite 40,000,000 kuna being allocated for the preparation of the analysis of its possible future in 2019. The hospital regained topicality in light of the coronavirus pandemic and a series of earthquake that struck Zagreb after March 22, 2020 that inflicted severe damage, including to the city’s hospitals.
The exhibition will be open to the public from May 12, 2020 in the extension of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
