Vangelis Vlahos
08 Mar - 14 Apr 2007
VANGELIS VLAHOS
" 1992 "
Private view Thursday 08.03.07 8 – 11 p.m.
THE BREEDER is pleased to present the research project of Vangelis Vlahos, titled ‘1992’.
Vangelis Vlahos has collected material from different sources (media, internet, state archives, etc.) forming an archive that focuses on the context of the specific renovation in relation to the Greek policies in the Balkans. This archive is displayed together with two different architectural models of the Parliament building - one based on found images from the internet picturing the building before renovation, and the other based on the actual architectural drawings taken from the construction company which is in charge of the renovation.
The research is based on the funding of the renovation of the former Bosnian Parliament building in Sarajevo by the Greek State and deals in general with Greece’s role in the Balkans, during the last 15 years.
The parliament building in Sarajevo is a high-rise, built in 1974, following the American modernist style of the 60s & 70s. This building that was partially destroyed during the war in Yugoslavia in the early 90s and has been characterized as the last “war landmark”, will house the Bosnia & Herzegovina’s government agencies. Its renovation is funded with 80.4% (13.5 million euros) by the Greek government within the context of the Greek Plan for Economic Reconstruction in the Balkans (ESOAV), a state mechanism aiming to increase Greek foreign policy’s influence and economic diplomacy in S.E. Europe. The building, which is currently under re-construction, will be renamed to Building of Friendship between Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Its opening is planed for the end of May 2007.
The particular initiative for the renovation has been described by former Prime Minister Costas Simitis as a movement with a strong symbolism for Greece’s role in the Balkans, while according to the current government the project confirms the special role and particular interest of Greece in the area.
Greek foreign policy and Greek views on the Balkans after the collapse of communism and the Kosovo conflict, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focus on the region’s political and social stabilization and economic development. In that context over the past 10 years Greek lenders have spent an estimated 1 billion dollars buying up bank assets in the Balkans while 3500 Greek enterprises are currently active in the region. Greece also, as a state, gets involved in transportation and energy related projects and Greek state-inspired public sector investments have been strategically placed in the telecommunications and banking sectors. In addition, the Greek state, since March 2002, has committed 550 million euros of direct aid to infrastructure throughout the region under the name Greek Plan for Economic Reconstruction in the Balkans (ESOAV). In 2002, ten years after the destruction of the building, signing the agreement for the renovation of the Parliament in Sarajevo was part of a broader agreement on the Mutual Protection and Promotion of Investments between the two countries (Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina).
Recent exhibitions include:
2007 3rd Prague Biennale
2006 27th Sao Paulo Biennale
2005 Behind Closed Doors, Dundee Centre for Contemporary Arts, Dundee-Scotland, curated by Katrina Brown
2004 Manifesta 5, Donostia – San Sebastian, artistic directors: Massimiliano Gioni, Marta Kuzma
3rd Berlin Biennial for contemporary art, artistic director: Ute Meta Bauer
" 1992 "
Private view Thursday 08.03.07 8 – 11 p.m.
THE BREEDER is pleased to present the research project of Vangelis Vlahos, titled ‘1992’.
Vangelis Vlahos has collected material from different sources (media, internet, state archives, etc.) forming an archive that focuses on the context of the specific renovation in relation to the Greek policies in the Balkans. This archive is displayed together with two different architectural models of the Parliament building - one based on found images from the internet picturing the building before renovation, and the other based on the actual architectural drawings taken from the construction company which is in charge of the renovation.
The research is based on the funding of the renovation of the former Bosnian Parliament building in Sarajevo by the Greek State and deals in general with Greece’s role in the Balkans, during the last 15 years.
The parliament building in Sarajevo is a high-rise, built in 1974, following the American modernist style of the 60s & 70s. This building that was partially destroyed during the war in Yugoslavia in the early 90s and has been characterized as the last “war landmark”, will house the Bosnia & Herzegovina’s government agencies. Its renovation is funded with 80.4% (13.5 million euros) by the Greek government within the context of the Greek Plan for Economic Reconstruction in the Balkans (ESOAV), a state mechanism aiming to increase Greek foreign policy’s influence and economic diplomacy in S.E. Europe. The building, which is currently under re-construction, will be renamed to Building of Friendship between Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Its opening is planed for the end of May 2007.
The particular initiative for the renovation has been described by former Prime Minister Costas Simitis as a movement with a strong symbolism for Greece’s role in the Balkans, while according to the current government the project confirms the special role and particular interest of Greece in the area.
Greek foreign policy and Greek views on the Balkans after the collapse of communism and the Kosovo conflict, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focus on the region’s political and social stabilization and economic development. In that context over the past 10 years Greek lenders have spent an estimated 1 billion dollars buying up bank assets in the Balkans while 3500 Greek enterprises are currently active in the region. Greece also, as a state, gets involved in transportation and energy related projects and Greek state-inspired public sector investments have been strategically placed in the telecommunications and banking sectors. In addition, the Greek state, since March 2002, has committed 550 million euros of direct aid to infrastructure throughout the region under the name Greek Plan for Economic Reconstruction in the Balkans (ESOAV). In 2002, ten years after the destruction of the building, signing the agreement for the renovation of the Parliament in Sarajevo was part of a broader agreement on the Mutual Protection and Promotion of Investments between the two countries (Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina).
Recent exhibitions include:
2007 3rd Prague Biennale
2006 27th Sao Paulo Biennale
2005 Behind Closed Doors, Dundee Centre for Contemporary Arts, Dundee-Scotland, curated by Katrina Brown
2004 Manifesta 5, Donostia – San Sebastian, artistic directors: Massimiliano Gioni, Marta Kuzma
3rd Berlin Biennial for contemporary art, artistic director: Ute Meta Bauer