Yane Calovski and Hristina Ivanoska
MAKEDONIUM: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished
Installation with film, sculpture, print series, and book
16.11.2024–09.03.2025
Discursive Space - Block House, Archive der Avantgarden – Egidio Marzona (ADA), Dresden, Germany (as part of “Building Worlds: Visionary Architecture in the 20th Century”), curated by Friederike Fast and coordinated by Clemens A. Ottenhausen. Photo: Nina Schwarzenberger.
As a comprehensive project, Makedonium: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished (2020-ongoing) seamlessly intertwines the roles of researcher, artist, and storyteller, shedding light on a neglected architectural legacy while probing the complex politics of authorship, cultural memory, and historic preservation. This interdisciplinary installation, comprising a publication, film, sculptures, and digital prints, explores themes of memory, erasure, and resistance through the story of the Makedonium memorial complex in Krushevo, North Macedonia. Designed by Jordan and Iskra Grabuloski (1969–1974), the monument’s archive—compiled by Iskra over three decades—reveals a history of bureaucratic neglect and the denial of her co-authorship. Through artistic reinterpretation, Calovski and Ivanoska's project interrogates the politics of authorship and preservation in the late modernist era, positioning archiving as an act of resistance against historical silencing.
FILM: MAKEDONIUM: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished
2023, 41:09 min, digital
Produced by: Press to Exit Project Space, Skopje
Directed by internationally acclaimed Macedonian filmmaker Teona Strugar Mitevska, this film combines dramatization and reenactment to explore issues of authorship, gender, and erasure within the historical context of late Yugoslav modernism. Based on a script by Hristina Ivanoska and visually styled by Yane Calovski, the film reveals the bureaucratic and political forces that denied Iskra Grabuloska recognition for her co-authorship role in creating the Makedonium monument. It dramatizes spouses’ fight for her acknowledgment and equal treatment, raising the question of whether the memorial, shaped by these struggles, is complete.
SCULPTURE: Fragment of a Window
(MAKEDONIUM: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished)
2024, stainless steel, each element 40 x 200 x 130 cm
Courtesy: Yane Calovski and Zilberman Gallery
This sculpture consists of two interlocking stainless steel floor elements inspired by the window design on the upper level of the Makedonium monument (the Dome). The piece reflects Iskra Grabulovska’s distinctive architectural style, reinterpreting her vision through a contemporary lens while maintaining a connection to the original form.
PRINT SERIES: MAKEDONIUM: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished
2024, series of 12 inkjet color prints printed on Hahnemühle PhotoRag, 308g/qm, 100% cotton, natural white, 100 x 70 cm each, Edition of 10 + 2AP
Design collaboration: Neda Firfova (Studio Modesty, Tokyo)
This print series visualizes the extensive editorial and archiving process behind Makedonium: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished, serving as both a visual and text-based representation of the research and production. Referencing the 2020 publication, the prints reflect three stages of the project’s development: white for the monument's history, light pink for referenced texts on its historical value, and dark purple for the distinct proposals by Hristina Ivanoska and Yane Calovski.
BOOK: MAKEDONIUM: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished
Macedonian and English
Authors: Yane Calovski and Hristina Ivanoska
Texts by: Jovanka Popova, Yane Calovski, Hristina Ivanoska, Antoanela Petkovska, Sonja Abadzieva Dimitrova, Bojan Ivanov, Keith Brown
Design collaboration: Neda Firfova (Studio Modesty, Tokyo)
Published by: Press to Exit Project Space, Skopje, 2020
ISBN: 978-608-4945-00-0
The book Makedonium: Dramaturgy of the Unfinished is a collaborative work by Yane Calovski and Hristina Ivanoska, inspired by the documentation surrounding the construction of the Monument "Ilinden" (also known as the "Makedonium") in Krushevo, designed by Jordan and Iskra Grabuloski. The publication merges two key concepts: Ivanoska’s performative methodology, “If a Story is Present”, and Calovski’s spatial installation study, “Restrained Space (Affected by Your Actions).” It also features a selection of texts in Macedonian language dedicated to the political, socio-cultural, and historical importance of the monument, along with technical drawings and archival documents from the Grabuloski’s collection housed in the State Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia.