107.5 Meter
Installation | 2013
In collaboration with Nima Keshtkar
Funded by Stipendium des Vereins zur Förderung von Studierenden der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar e.V.
An extra-large white balloon rises from the roof of the Glass Bank in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This temporary installation reflects the ways in which height has been used as a measure of power by both Catholics and Muslims in the city, which has been divided along religious lines since the war in the 1990s.
Power can be lost at any moment. The Glass Bank, a former financial institution, and one of the highest public structures in Mostar, was once a symbol for a successful economy and an increase in prosperity. Nowadays, the Glass Bank is a public space widely used by young, homeless, and creative people. The building has come to stand for the precariousness of economic power. Once strong, it is now a ruin of war.
By using a balloon filled with helium – a bubble, so to speak – the artists suggest the ephemeral nature of power and of all earthly goods and pursuits. Through an extension of the temporary installation, the project is broadened to consider how height indicates power in a variety of contexts. A metal suitcase sits upon a pedestal. Inside the suitcase is a toolkit including instructions designed to allow one to establish power and superiority through height.