PRNJAVOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AWARDED FOR AUDIOVISUAL PRESENTATION OF JASENOVAC SUFFERING

PRNJAVOR, APRIL 26 /SRNA/ - Anastasija Stojčić and Marija Marinković, first-year students of the Social Sciences and Languages track at the Prnjavor High School, won second place at this year's competition organized by the Donja Gradina Memorial Center, in collaboration with the Republic Pedagogical Institute, for their original audiovisual work "Packaging Evil."

Stojčić told SRNA that initially their idea was to create individual works of art, but at the suggestion of their mentor, Professor Željko Jelić Kremanski, they created a joint project, technically executed in the form of an installation with sound editing and visual elements. "The two of us painted the work, and the professor provided us with a speaker. We packed everything into an audiovisual box, and the sound leaves a special impression on the observer," she says. Marinković explains that each side of the box is specially painted with motifs of faces showing the fear and pain these people felt in the concentration camp, and on one side, they also painted the figure of a crying boy. "Each image is a striking symbol of the suffering in Jasenovac, and the sounds coming from the box contribute to the overall experience. We hoped that this work, which is different from those in previous years, would catch the committee’s attention, that they would recognize our effort and understand what we wanted to convey," she emphasized. Speaking about the emotions that arose during the creation of "Packing Evil," Stojčić says it was not easy because working on such a demanding and difficult topic evokes sadness and anxiety. "The fear that those innocent victims felt in the death camp accompanied our expression with the brush," says Stojčić. She emphasizes that her generation is aware of the horrific crime that took place in Jasenovac because this topic is extensively taught and discussed in history classes and other lectures, and that it should be openly talked about so that it is not forgotten or repeated. Marinković also says that it was not easy to address the topic of such a tragic event, but she believes that they managed to express their emotions in the right way. "With our work, we tried to express all the suffering of the people and convey that feeling to the observer. I am happy when I see that young people do not forget, which is a privilege of our generation to supplement knowledge of history through various lectures, and visits are also organized, for example, to Donja Gradina, which we will visit tomorrow," says Marinković.