SUPERBALKAN

In 1991, after the demise of the Communist system in Albania, all that remained of the one-time “rock of granite” was a bitterly poor country on the brink of chaos – and a collection of bizarre propaganda artefacts. The incisive changes forced artists – like society as a whole – to start seeking their identity on unfamiliar artistic, economic, social and mental terrain. Although a wave of emigration set in, many artists refused to leave the country. Fatmir Koçi asks them about their reasons for staying, and about how liberation from totalitarian rule has affected their creative work. Working with colour and music, Koçi quirkily juxtaposes the reality of contemporary Albania with xcerpts from Communist propaganda films.