When Merlinka Built Stone Towers (2024)
Public project
Archive, Installation, documentation of action
Working Group: Marija Iva Gocić, Pavle Banović, Leah Rivka Lapiower, Chloé Sassi
, Sara Pantović
curator: Jelisaveta Rapaić
Cultural Center of Belgrade
Gallery Podroom
Belgrade, Serbia
Public project
Archive, Installation, documentation of action
Working Group: Marija Iva Gocić, Pavle Banović, Leah Rivka Lapiower, Chloé Sassi , Sara Pantović
curator: Jelisaveta Rapaić
Cultural Center of Belgrade
Gallery Podroom
Belgrade, Serbia
The white, massive object from the last century, in which I knit my stone nest, seemed to smile at me with its whiteness while I rushed towards it with a hasty step. Will he and I be lucky enough to both survive this whirlwind of war and the hell we've found ourselves in, both of us helpless to defend ourselves?
-From the book "Theresa's Son" by Vjeran Miladinović Merlinka
Vjeran Merlinka was the first publicly declared trans person in Yugoslavia and a public figure of great significance to the community and culture. While she resided in Belgrade, she lived and worked at the Belgrade Planetarium at Kalemegdan. She contributed to the Astronomical Society Ruđer Bošković, maintained the planetarium and its surroundings, and left behind her creative works. Over the years, she created, as she called it, her "concrete nest" in the building's yard. She also collected and made small sculptures, ceramics, and ornaments which she collaged on the walls of her home.
Her initials, M.V., appear on the front door.
After her murder on March 22, 2003, her home and creations remained locked behind these doors. The stone garden in front of them was forgotten over the years. Due to the hidden and neglected nature of the space, it became a wild toilet and dump, covered with condoms and used needles.
In June 2024, the renovation of the Belgrade Planetarium began, during which Merlinka's concrete installation and creations were demolished and discarded.
The Working Group happened to be on-site during the demolition and managed to save some of her creations. Believing that Merlinka and her life work are of cultural significance to our society, we present the documentation of this story and everything that remained, so that at least a part of it finds a permanent place at an institution, where it belongs.
The Working Group When Merlinka Built Stone Towers
is an informal group of cultural workers who gathered around a common goal and contributed to it in any way. The group includes Pavle Banović, Marija Iva Gocić, Leah Rivka Lapiower, Sara Pantović, and Chloé Sassi.
Old documentation of Merlinka’s home: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oUR424RtsI&ab_channel=321minion
The white, massive object from the last century, in which I knit my stone nest, seemed to smile at me with its whiteness while I rushed towards it with a hasty step. Will he and I be lucky enough to both survive this whirlwind of war and the hell we've found ourselves in, both of us helpless to defend ourselves?
-From the book "Theresa's Son" by Vjeran Miladinović Merlinka
Vjeran Merlinka was the first publicly declared trans person in Yugoslavia and a public figure of great significance to the community and culture. While she resided in Belgrade, she lived and worked at the Belgrade Planetarium at Kalemegdan. She contributed to the Astronomical Society Ruđer Bošković, maintained the planetarium and its surroundings, and left behind her creative works. Over the years, she created, as she called it, her "concrete nest" in the building's yard. She also collected and made small sculptures, ceramics, and ornaments which she collaged on the walls of her home.
Her initials, M.V., appear on the front door.
After her murder on March 22, 2003, her home and creations remained locked behind these doors. The stone garden in front of them was forgotten over the years. Due to the hidden and neglected nature of the space, it became a wild toilet and dump, covered with condoms and used needles.
In June 2024, the renovation of the Belgrade Planetarium began, during which Merlinka's concrete installation and creations were demolished and discarded.
The Working Group happened to be on-site during the demolition and managed to save some of her creations. Believing that Merlinka and her life work are of cultural significance to our society, we present the documentation of this story and everything that remained, so that at least a part of it finds a permanent place at an institution, where it belongs.
The Working Group When Merlinka Built Stone Towers is an informal group of cultural workers who gathered around a common goal and contributed to it in any way. The group includes Pavle Banović, Marija Iva Gocić, Leah Rivka Lapiower, Sara Pantović, and Chloé Sassi.
Old documentation of Merlinka’s home: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oUR424RtsI&ab_channel=321minion
-From the book "Theresa's Son" by Vjeran Miladinović Merlinka
Vjeran Merlinka was the first publicly declared trans person in Yugoslavia and a public figure of great significance to the community and culture. While she resided in Belgrade, she lived and worked at the Belgrade Planetarium at Kalemegdan. She contributed to the Astronomical Society Ruđer Bošković, maintained the planetarium and its surroundings, and left behind her creative works. Over the years, she created, as she called it, her "concrete nest" in the building's yard. She also collected and made small sculptures, ceramics, and ornaments which she collaged on the walls of her home.
Her initials, M.V., appear on the front door.
After her murder on March 22, 2003, her home and creations remained locked behind these doors. The stone garden in front of them was forgotten over the years. Due to the hidden and neglected nature of the space, it became a wild toilet and dump, covered with condoms and used needles.
In June 2024, the renovation of the Belgrade Planetarium began, during which Merlinka's concrete installation and creations were demolished and discarded.
The Working Group happened to be on-site during the demolition and managed to save some of her creations. Believing that Merlinka and her life work are of cultural significance to our society, we present the documentation of this story and everything that remained, so that at least a part of it finds a permanent place at an institution, where it belongs.
The Working Group When Merlinka Built Stone Towers is an informal group of cultural workers who gathered around a common goal and contributed to it in any way. The group includes Pavle Banović, Marija Iva Gocić, Leah Rivka Lapiower, Sara Pantović, and Chloé Sassi.
Old documentation of Merlinka’s home: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oUR424RtsI&ab_channel=321minion
Photographs by Pavle Banović
Documentation of installation veiw by Luka Milanović.
Documentation of installation veiw by Luka Milanović.