BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Streetart Sarajevo - Marijin Dvor - Zmaja od Bosne 5D - History Museum - Painted Aircraft - RIKARDO DRUŠKIĆ

Historijski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine – Painted Aircraft

The brightly painted aircraft near Café Tito in Sarajevo is a replica of a German DFS 230 military glider from the Second World War. Today, it belongs to the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the museum’s most unusual outdoor exhibits. Its colorful appearance, however, is not historical. It was created as a contemporary artwork by Sarajevo-based artist RIKARDO DRUŠKIĆ. He discovered the replica when he visited the museum as part of the project “Awakening of the City” (“Buđenje grada”). At that time, the aircraft was in very poor condition. It had been damaged by weather, was lying on the ground, and had broken windows and a damaged wing. Druškić suggested turning it into a work of art by painting it, and the museum agreed. He completed the painting in about three days.

The painting was connected to the exhibition “Wer is Walter? Topography of antifascist resistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1941-1945”, planned for the museum on 6th April 2020, the Day of the City of Sarajevo. The exhibition asked artists to explore the meaning of “Walter”, a famous Bosnian partisan figure and „Walter“ was the code name of that legendary resistance fighter. Also there is a famous Yugoslav film from 1972 by Hajrudin Krvavac named “Walter Defends Sarajevo”. RIKARDO’s colorful glider was his personal answer to this question.

The contrast is especially important because the DFS 230 has a connection to a much darker part of history. German forces used this type of glider during the Raid on Drvar in May 1944, an operation aimed at capturing or killing Josip Broz Tito, the leader of the Yugoslav Partisans. The operation failed, and Tito escaped. RIKARDO DRUŠKIĆ deliberately transformed an object associated with war and death into something bright and positive.

The replica itself had originally been created for the museum’s “Touch History” project, which was designed to make historical objects accessible to blind and visually impaired visitors. The artwork therefore gave an already educational object a completely new meaning. Instead of representing a weapon of war, the colorful aircraft now stands as a symbol of creativity, renewal and a different way of engaging with history.

The planned opening of “Was ist Walter?” in April 2020 was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the exhibition was presented online. Later that year, the painted glider was also included in RIKARDO DRUŠKIĆ’s exhibition “Awakening Consciousness – Awakening from Isolation” at the History Museum. Today, the colorful aircraft remains a striking example of how contemporary art can transform the meaning and appearance of a historical object without erasing its past.

You can combine your visit with the Historical Museum or the free open air war vehicles exhibition at Cafe Tito just around the corner. Check out as well the pages for the artworks in front of the museum by BO JONZON and VLADIMIR ZORIN, for the War Victims Memorial, for the Antifa Artwork by NIJAZ GOJAK, for the Outdoor Exhibition by VEDAD DIVOVIĆ on the museum’s plaza, and for the Graffiti Wall facing the park to the east.