This year, the festival's centerpiece is a compelling visual trilogy titled "Visual Trilogy about Wartime Missing Persons," featuring the works of Hrair Sarkissian, Atdhe Mulla, and Korab Krasniqi.
The trauma of war, particularly the unresolved pain of missing loved ones, resonates deeply in Kosovo, where nearly 1,600 individuals remain unaccounted for. This trilogy of exhibitions confronts this enduring sorrow with powerful imagery that bridges the personal and the collective, the present and the absent.
Hrair Sarkissian's "LAST SEEN" captures the haunting spaces where missing persons were last seen, transforming these locations into anti-monuments that evoke both presence and absence. Sarkissian's work, spanning Lebanon, Brazil, Argentina, Kosovo, and Bosnia, creates a global dialogue on ambiguous loss, inviting viewers to meditate on the memories and voids left behind.
Atdhe Mulla’s "ECHOES OF THE PAST" offers an intimate narrative of Kosovo’s missing, chronicling their stories through evocative images that reflect loss, hope, and resilience. His photography serves as a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the relentless quest for justice, offering a window into lives forever altered by war.
Korab Krasniqi’s "TIME BURDENS THE WOUND" shifts the focus to the families left behind, capturing the emotional toll of absence through portraits and landscapes that convey the enduring pain of those who wait for answers. His work is a call for recognition and collective memory, urging society to confront the unfinished business of war.
These exhibitions are more than just art — they are acts of remembrance, advocacy, and healing. They remind us that the search for truth and justice is not just about the past but is crucial to building a future grounded in peace and reconciliation. As visitors walk through the exhibition, they are invited to join this journey of empathy and understanding, to honor the missing, and to reflect on the scars of conflict that continue to shape our world.
The "Visual Trilogy about Wartime Missing Persons" is a vital part of forumZFD and its partners’ mission to use the arts as a tool for social change. It stands as a powerful reminder that the stories of the missing must not fade into oblivion.
The 'Visual Trilogy about Wartime Missing Persons' exhibition opened on August 30th, 2024, coinciding with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. It gathered families of the missing, associations, artists, civil society members, the international community, and state officials to honor the occasion and commemorate the missing from wartime through the exhibition's inauguration.
The opening remarks featured contributions from Mr. Christian Boetcher, spokesperson for the German Embassy in Kosovo, Mr. Bajram Qerkinaj, honorary director of the Missing Persons Resource Center, Mr. Nehari Sharri, country director of forumZFD Kosovo, and Mr. Burim Myftiu, executive director of the international photography festival, Fotoist.
In the words of Christian Böttcher, Head of Culture, Press, and Communications at the German Embassy in Prishtina, “As we walk through this exhibition, let it inspire not just reflection but also action. Let us commit to supporting the efforts to bring answers and peace to those still waiting, and to ensuring that justice and reconciliation remain at the heart of our efforts to build a lasting peace.”
Mr. Qerkinaj discussed the significance of collectively acknowledging the suffering, the loss, and the absence of family members due to war. He also highlighted the importance of symbolic representation initiatives in helping families regain their dignity and cope with the pain of loss and the absence of closure.
Mr. Sharri acknowledged the anguish and loss of family members in wartime conditions and urged a wider engagement of stakeholders to expedite the process of resolving the remaining cases of missing persons from the Kosovo conflict, reflecting a shared ethos of acknowledgment and unity.
Mr. Myftiu, delivering an emotional speech filled with heartfelt solidarity, addressed the families of the missing persons at the exhibition's opening. He thanked them for their courage and determination to persist in the search for their loved ones, even more than 25 years after the war, and emphasized the significance of photography in memory and commemoration.
The 'Visual Trilogy about Wartime Missing Persons' exhibition was available for public viewing until September 3, 2024.
The exhibition is a joint production of FOTOIST, forumZFD Kosovo, Barabar Centre, Integra, and MPRC - Missing Persons Resource Center, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
