Sonda is the only Croatian creative studio, and one of 15 from all over Europe, invited by the Italian AIAP – Association of Visual Communication Design to exhibit its work as part of the European Design Awards event in a unique museum complex / church from the 17th century – Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco, in Naples.

The topic of the exhibition is the “Cult of Death” as a characteristic cultural phenomenon, and the invited participants were given a default poster format and complete freedom of interpretation of the aforementioned topic.

Sonda opted in its interpretation for a specific turn from the classical theme of veneration of departed souls to a broader social issue – namely the treatment of artists during their lifetime and after they are gone. We are all familiar with the widespread phenomenon in which artists become icons only after their death, while they did not have nearly such a status during their lifetime. The focus of Sonda’s work is the great Croatian poet Tin Ujević and his statement: “While I’m alive, you won’t give me a place to live, but when I die, you will give me a whole street.”

However, the work does not end with the poster itself. The QR code contained on it takes us to a website dedicated to the poet. On the page we find a special map of the Republic of Croatia where all the streets and squares in the country named after Tin Ujević are marked – the result of the research conducted in cooperation with the State Geodetic Administration.

Along with the map, we also find Ujević’s appropriate poem for this topic, A record on the doorstep – translated by Gordana Janjušević Leković. Furthermore, we can also read a short essay by the contemporary writer Marko Pogačar, who examines the mentioned topic more deeply and adds a contemporary context to it. The essay is intended primarily for an international audience in order for them to better understand why Tin Ujević was chosen as the central figure of this work.

“Is the only good poet a dead one? The time is, it seems to be, both the revelator and the worst enemy of an artist: the living one. Romantic ideas about writing unconditionally and for the eternity meet the stereotype of starving artists, working in moldy rooms, (…)” – is a fragment of Pogačar’s essay, which can be read in its entirety on the website dedicated to the project.

With this work, Sonda wants to make a wider audience aware of the importance and influence of art on society, and to question society’s attitude towards those who create it, after death, but even more importantly – during their lifetime.

The exhibition lasts from May 30 to June 2. at the location of Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco in Naples, and the website of the project itself can be found here: https://www.tinujevic.eu

Sonda has already been awarded a total of 6 European design awards, including the Jury Grand Prix 2021 for the work 100% COVID-free journey.

CREDITS:

Creative direction, copywriting and design: Jelena Fiškuš, Sean Poropat (Studio Sonda)
Website design: Aleksandar Živanov (Studio Sonda)
Project coordination and PR: Sara Šalov (Studio Sonda)
Account manager: Ana Velić (Studio Sonda)
Website development: Denis Tomljanović (Synet)
Essay: Marko Pogačar
Translation of the poem A record on the doorstep: Gordana Janjušević Leković
Translation of the quote: Mirjana Aleksić