Work from the Collection

Poisoned by men in need of some love (Quattuor Bubo bubo)

Date: 2013
Medium: Sculpture
Materials: Iron, Cow dung, Earth, Glue, Copper
Collection: Lafayette anticipations - Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin

In his youth, Petrit Halilaj was an eyewitness to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the war in former Yugoslavia, and their aftermaths. The video installation July 14th? and sculptures Poisoned by Men in Need of Some Love reveal the nationalist influence, sparked by this major conflict of the late twentieth century, on Kosovar heritage. Before the war, a well-known collection of taxidermy mounted animals was presented to the Museum of Natural History in Pristina. The political upheaval transformed the museum into an institution celebrating national identity, and the animals were replaced by objects of folklore, compromising their conservation. Relegated to the basement, the stuffed critters gradually mummified and decomposed. In 2013, Halilaj documented their exhumation, recreating and filming sculpted artefacts, thus bringing these animals, who had already suffered a double death, back to life.


Exhibitions

You
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris (France)
from 11 Oct 2019 to 16 Feb 2020
She, fully turning around, became terrestrial
The Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik, Bonn (Allemagne)
from 06 Mar to 18 Oct 2015

Production specifications

The Fondation preserves and documents traces of the works at various stages of their creation (sketches, models, prototypes, etc.).
Mise en contexte du département d'histoire naturelle du Musée de Kosovo
14 May 2014
Exposition "July, 14th?" de Petrit Halilaj à Lafayette Anticipations
24 October 2013
Discussions sur le transfert de pièces et la scénographie de l'exposition "July, 14th?"
02 October 2013
Exposition "Petrit Halilaj : Poisoned by men in need of some love" au WIELS (Bruxelles)
07 September 2013
Petrit Halilaj