The artist collective MONTAЖ$TROJ presents the documentary performance THE ZONE, Borut Šeparović’s authorial project, about to have its premiere in the Gorgona Hall of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb (MSU). The performance, developed as part of the collective’s year-long residency at Zagreb’s MSU, is filmed for the purposes of a documentary film. The staging of the performance marks 30 years of MONTAЖ$TROJ’s activity. Its beginnings are tied precisely to MSU, where the artistic action “THE FOOTBALL BOOT IN THE ART GALLERY” was performed in front of, as it was then called, the City Gallery of Contemporary Art on December 22, 1989.
We return to MSU on our 30th anniversary and examine the dissolution of public health system on the example of the University Hospital in Blato. For over 10 years, over 400,000 employed citizens of Zagreb paid a voluntary tax for the hospital that has never been finished and does not serve its purpose. Instead of providing health security, it is deteriorating on the outskirts of the city, falling apart like the social and economic system that half-built it. Rumors surrounding this building which was, once built, supposed to serve as the central healthcare facility in Croatia, presumably began in the phase of preparatory works and documentation drafting 40 years ago. With time, as the vegetation surrounding the building flourished, enveloping its steel structure, different urban legends and stories started spreading around the city. The importance of the story of the unfinished University Hospital stems precisely from the fact that it is a mirror of our society and all the processes it went through in the past 30 years.
THE ZONE is a three-part performance which will take place on Wednesday, December 18 (THE ZONE_A), Thursday, December 19 (THE ZONE_B) and Friday, December 20 (THE ZONE_C) at 8 pm. Each of the performances is an independent whole. On Sunday, December 22, precisely on MONTAЖ$TROJ’s birthday, a final performance will unite all three parts (THE ZONE A+B+C). The Sunday performance starts at 6 pm, and visitors can walk in and out of the performance space at their will during the performance.
THE ZONE is performed by actresses Biserka Ipša-Kunčević and Slavica Knežević-Torjanac, actors Pjer (Branko) Meničanin, Vinko Kraljević and Alan Katić, together with a performance from the Nursing Home “Sv. Ana” Choir.
Admission to all performances is free!
Public filming is taking place during the performance, so you need to consent to participate in the filming of a documentary to enter the hall.
