Collective and Cultural Trauma

Video by Emma Zukovic

My work is concerned with Marianne Hirsch’s theory of post memory; the relationship the generation after bears to the collective cultural trauma of those who came before. Being of Macedonian descent, I use film as a means to delve into an exploration of the self and my personal ‘post memory’ of the turmoil and separation of Yugoslavia in 1992.

The abandoned house holds within it objects from the former collective state; a balkan rug, clay pots from Macedonia, and a broken framed map of Yugoslavia. The fire which gradually immolates the house is a metaphor for the war ,which smouldered the now lost country. —Emma Zukovic

Filming, editing, and sound written and composed by Emma Zukovic.

Emma Zukovic was born in Lymington, England, in 1993. The artist is now based in Galway, Ireland. She received her BA in Fine Art Printmaking and Contemporary Practice in Limerick School of Art and Design. The artist’s mother is of Irish nationality and her father is from Macedonia. Being of Macedonian descent, Zukovic’s work is concerned with the theory of post memory and its relevance to the lost country, Yugoslavia.