group presentation of an exhibition at the architecture association

1. POTENTIAL MONUMENTS OF
UNREALISED FUTURES
The show, curated by Jonida Turani and Stefano Rabolli Pansera of Beyond Entropy
Balkan, was originally commissioned by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of
Albania for the Pavilion of the Republic of Albania at the 14th International
Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale 2014. The London show at the AA was
opened by Edi Rama; the charismatic Prime Minister of Albania. He’s a man who
believes in beauty as a catalyst for change and is the force behind much of Albania’s
positive transformation.

2. The AA gallery regularly exhibits work from emerging professionals, to exhibitions
containing the work of more established architects and related professionals.
February will see the launch of two new shows in the upstairs gallery spaces; Jan Kaplický
Drawings presents work by the Czech architect Jan Kaplický (1937-2009) – a visionary
designer with a passion for drawing and stunning photographs of British pillboxes by
Richard Brine.
The Architectural Association

3. Context
• Work by two Albanian artists: Edi Hila and Adrian Paci
• The origins of the two artists play an important role in the concepts behind the exhibition
• The painting series Penthouse looks at the mix of architectural elements found in the
penthouses at the top of housing blocks in Tirana, the capital city of Albania
• These penthouses, among lots of other buildings in Albania, don’t conform to a unified
style of architecture synonymous with an Albanian ideal, as Albania has been part of a
great many other nations and under control by lots of different states in its history and its
architecture has been influenced by all of them
• The modern-day territory of Albania was at various points in history part of the Roman
provinces of Dalmatia (southern Illyricum), Macedonia (particularly Epirus Nova), and
Moesia Superior.
• The territory was also part of the Ottoman Empire, before the Empires collapse in Europe
following the Balkan Wars, where after Albania became a republic.

4. Context
• Albania declared independence in 1912 (to be recognised in 1913), becoming a
Principality, Republic, and Kingdom.
• Albania was then invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, which in turn
became a Nazi German protectorate in 1943.
• In 1944, a socialist People's Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha
and the Party of Labour.
• In 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established.
• Being part of the Roman Empire had a large impact on the architecture of early cities in
the area that would later become Albania, and then further influencing what was built
afterwards. Roman cities and state buildings being known for being huge grand stone
buildings with pillars and arches, and domed roofs, with lots of Greek stylistic elements.
• The Ottoman Empire also had a huge influence in Albanian architecture, at the time Islam
dominated the area as the most commonly held religion and practice of life, with Islamic
religious buildings influencing what important buildings should look like in the capital, with
lots of spires, domes, and towers.

5. Context
• With the invasion of Italy, followed by Nazi Germany, and then the dictatorship of Enver
Hoxha and the huge battle he waged against nationalists in northern Albania, large
portions of the country suffered lots of damage from bombing and ground warfare, with
lots of innocent lives lost and towns abandoned, meaning lots of sections of the larger
cities are quite new in terms of architecture, while other areas haven't changed or been
renewed in centuries. Communism also meant a promise of huge nationwide
development, with lots of buildings and ambitious architectural projects started, then the
economical crash and eventual downfall of the Socialist Party meaning these buildings
were left unfinished, perhaps linking to the title of “Unrealized futures”
• After the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established,
Capitalism has allowed Free-market reforms to open up the country to foreign investment,
bringing lots of western influence, western architectural ideals and generally helping
shape the general consensus of the public in deciding what a luxury penthouse should
look like.
• Albania is also now officially considered as an upper-middle income economy, meaning
citizens who can afford to live in a penthouse in the capital, can also afford to take control
over the architectural style of there home, whilst also possibly having a social image to
uphold, which needs to be backed up by an appropriately styled living space.

6. Context
• Therefore looking at the penthouses in the capital city of a country is an interesting way of
analysing a cross section of a society, its history, and its current tastes in architecture. Edi
Hila envisages the domestic architecture dispersed in the Albanian landscape through
these paintings. The constructions, elevated onto plinths, become imagined architectures
loaded with monumental elements: arches, pediments and pilasters. The paintings reveal
a conceptual model for transforming the traces of modernity into potential monuments.
• The title, Unrealized Futures, refers specifically to the processes of the construction of
buildings, and unfinished architectural elements, the artists avoid the traditional
architectural viewpoint. In the potential created by the fragmented and uncompleted
plans, lie the conditions of a new concept of potentiality considered as a value to be
preserved. Maintaining this potential suggests another direction for political and
architectural action.
• The large pillar outside the gallery, Known as The Column by Adrian Paci, also reminisces
on the Roman influence on Albanian architecture, and the nations opinion on what shows
grandeur in architecture, whilst also alluding to the exhibitions title. The pillar lies on its
side, in the street, in a state of impotence and potential, it is expected to be standing
upright supporting the roof of a grand building, like most pillars, however it will remain as
a piece of art, its future unrealised.

7. Key Piece
• We chose Adrian Paci’s ‘The Column’ as our key piece.
• The piece comes from a series called ‘Lives in Transit’, which includes videos, installations,
paintings, photographs and sculptures made since 1997.
• ‘The Column’ was a video piece made in 2013, showing the carving of a ‘Romanesque’
marble column onboard a Chinese cargo ship, on its way to Paci’s Parisian studio.
• The piece comes in 2 dimensions; the video (the story of the making of the column) and the
sculpture, which was exhibited outside the Architectural Association where everyone is able
to see and touch it.

8. • Loved how quiet the video was. There was no music
to accompany it or talking, only the sound of the
ocean and the breaking of the marble.
• The muted colours fitted well with the quiet of the
video. The washed-out look came across as quite
dream-like.
• This was enhanced by the fact that most of the video
took place in the middle of the ocean.
• It had an atmosphere of solitude.
• The paintings had similar muted colours.
Key Piece

9. • Paci talking about the process of having the column carved whilst on the journey
to the buyer;
‘it sounded so weird, simultaneously sick and fabulous, something
mythological and at the same time in keeping with the capitalistic logic of profit –
merging the time of production with the time of transport.’
• One article said that ‘The Column’ was an ‘admittedly esoteric’ installation, but I
disagree. You don’t need to know Paci’s motives behind the making of the piece in
order to appreciate it. It has a very strong narrative on its own, especially with the
inclusion of the characterful faces of the men working on the column.
Paci talking about the
story behind ‘The Column’
http://lemagazine.jeudep
aume.org/2013/03/adrian
-paci-the-column-at-jeu-
de-paume/
Key Piece

10. Key Piece

11. Key Piece
• This is an image of ‘The Column’ at Galeri Mana in Istanbul. The larger and longer space is more effective as
it allows the viewer to step back from the video to take in the expansive images shown.
• The Architectural Association’s gallery space was small, and you felt uncomfortably close to the screen.
• The piece was also shown at Jeu de Paume in Paris which was a larger space as well.

12. Adrian Paci was born in Shkodër,
Albania, in 1969.
From 1987 to 1991 he attended the Akademia e Arteve in Tirana, Albania. He lectured
in art history and aesthetics in Shkodër from 1995 until 1997, at which time he left his
home country for Milan, escaping the violence of the armed uprising that roiled
Albania that year. Paci’s position as an exile holds a central place in his oeuvre. His work
frequently addresses themes of geographical separation, nostalgia, and memory, and
conveys a keen sense of the mutability of life and art.
Adrian Paci
Paci is known primarily for his work in performance and video, although he explores
similar subjects in painting, photography, and sculpture.

13. Paci is known primarily for his work in performance and video, although he explores similar subjects
in painting, photography, and sculpture. Characterized by a fluid interplay between performance and
body art, his videos frequently focus on quotidian existence and feature members of his own family.
In the video piece Apparizione (2001), for example, Paci’s daughter sings an Albanian song on one
screen, while her relatives in Albania complete the unfinished verses on another. Though physically
separated in life and in art, the family becomes unified through tradition and a shared language. In
several of his videos, Paci uses his body to create poignant statements about loss—whether by
crawling across the floor with a roof tied to his back (Home to Go, 2001), or by staging his own
funeral with the help of a professional mourner (In Vajtojca, 2002). While his work centers on his
own identity and personal history, it nevertheless actively engages its audience, challenging viewers’
limited perceptions of reality.
Adrian Paci

14. Edi Hila was born in
Shkodër, Albania in
1944.
Since 1991 he has
taught painting at the
Tirana Academy of
Arts (where he has
notably educated
artists such as Adrian
Paci and Anri Sala).
As an important figure of the Balkan arts scene, the work of Edi Hila has for the last 20
years bared witness to the profound changes experienced by societies in post communist
Europe. Having refused to emigrate to a more economically prosperous country, Hila
remains living in Tirana where he has developed a practice which reflects on the
transitory nature of Albanian history (its geography between east and west) and on the
position of Albanian painting in Mediterranean art history.
Edi Hila

15. Hila's most recent series has placed an emphasis on urban environments and in particular
the architecture which has become an expression of a complex and unexpected Albanian
identity. The attitudes and cultural heritage of his homeland materialize themselves in
street scenes or through ghostly architectures. Hila's painterly manner manifests these
studies with mysterious and almost supernatural character. In his paintings the view of
everyday life seems to take place in a science-fiction backdrop.
Edi Hila