Of Kosovar origin, Halilaj is the winner of the art category of the Mario Merz Prize second edition, the biannual international award for art and music, inaugurated by the Fondazione Merz.

The exhibition in Turin is the culmination of an ambitious three-part project, curated by Leonardo Bigazzi, taking form in three different locations significant to the life and career of the artist. The first iteration was a performance – the largest public art project ever implemented by Petrit Halilaj – that took place on 7 July 2018 at the ruins of the Cultural Centre of Runik (Kosovo), the town where the artist grew up. This was followed by the presentation from 20 July to 19 August 2018 at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern (Switzerland), a point of contact between Shkrepëtima and the work done earlier by the artist with the RU series of works.

Finally, the project arrives in Turin in the form of an important and unprecedented final exhibition, the heart of which consists of a series of monumental installations recontextualising, within the exhibition space, the sets, costumes and stage objects of Runik’s performances. The Shkrepëtima project continues the artist’s investigation into the historical roots of the Kosovar town in which he grew up, reflecting on the potential of art and the value of memory. By intervening in the real world Halilaj intends to change the processes of the forming of collective history of his community, bringing it closer to its origins and calling into question some models that still regulate its social structure today.

With the support of: Regione Piemonte, Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT

We wish to thank the City of Turin and Kuhn & Bülow