During the 1960s and 70s, thousands of monuments commemorating the Second World War called 'Spomeniks' were built throughout the former Yugoslavia.
These striking monumental sculptures with angular geometry echoed the shapes of flowers, crystals, and macro-views of viruses or DNA. In the 1980s the Spomeniks still attracted millions of visitors from the Eastern block, today they are largely neglected and unknown, their symbolism lost and unwanted.
Antwerp-based photographer Jan Kempenaers travelled the Balkans photographing these eerie cosmic objects, presented in this book as a powerful typological series. The beauty and mystery of the isolated, crumbling Spomeniks informs Kempenaer's inquiry into memory, found beauty, and whether former monuments can function as pure sculpture.
Out of Print First edition / 68 pages
Published by Roma Publications (NL)