In this work “Fragments II” Vellahu documents the present situation of four unrecognized territories, giving a more personal testimony to the multi-layered histories of these forgotten entities. It is a complex topic involving international actors whose active/passive approach determines how these entities continue to coexist. As a travelogue, while strolling, riding or biking he has collected stories of people whose collective trauma is not only a trace left on their experiences of war, but also the kind that remains embedded in landscapes that continue to bear witness to what’s left of the past. Through a further exploration of the subject he researches how memories affect the understanding and reflection on what had happened, shaping the way in which people identify with their everyday realities, that are often frozen and in conflict.

 

Vangjush Vellahu was born in 1987 in Pogradec, Albania and currently lives and works in Berlin. In his work he is interested in travel as a medium to collect and tell stories. His works intertwine urban histories of entities that from an ideological and political standpoint remain on the margins of recognition. In 2019 he published his first travelogue “Fragments I – Where stories cut across the land” that came along with his first solo show.

 

http://vangjushvellahu.com/