Between the Walls: The Return of Post 1989 and the Art of Mladen Miljanović

Abstract

Mladen Miljanović represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2013 Venice Biennale following a twenty year absence with The Garden of Delights. Often using the technique of engraving on granite, in the tradition of Balkan tombstone decorations, Miljanović draws on the recurring motif of the garden throughout his oeuvre to address the aftermath of war. This chapter considers the role of the garden in Miljanović’s work, amongst the ruins of the fallen Empire of Eastern European socialism and after the firestorm of ultra-nationalism that followed.