Pogon.hr

It is with great regret and sorrow that we inform you that artist Željko Zorica Shish passed away on 5 September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Željko Zorica was born in 1957 in Zagreb. In 1976, he started his productive artistic career which extended across various fields. Universally versatile, a man of inexhaustible creativity, he was committed to true artistic independence in both his work and his life. He started his theatre work with the company Kugla Glumište. Later on, he also founded theatre companies such as Ulješura, Kačinsky Troup and Uplašene žirafe. As a freelance theatre and film director, as well as designer, puppet artist, writer and illustrator, graphic designer, author of comic books, and author and performer of various happenings, Željko Zorica made a striking impact on almost four decades of contemporary art in Croatia. His artistic work was saturated with playfulness of thoughts and freshness of ideas but also activism and social engagement. He ceaselessly built upon his artistic opus through numerous collaborations with local and international artists. Openness to collaborate with new artists, new artistic and other initiatives and willingness to constantly question his own work were in the very core of his artistic existence.

The literary sphere of his artistic creativity includes books from the series The Fantastic Bestiary of Europe (Asleep Guardians of the City of Zagreb or The Fantastic Bestiary, 1996; The Fantastic Bestiary of Roskilde, 1999; The Fantastic Bestiary of Croatia 2, 2000). These books are an unusual blend of fictional and documentary elements, a savvy and witty combination of various genres and discourses, texts and images.

One of the characters that Zorica introduced into the public space and his long-time companion was Dr. Hans Christian Zabludovsky, a fictional yet real character, whose influence on world history, literature, and our everyday lives Shish tirelessly documented and celebrated by placing memorial plaques in many places in Zagreb and other cities.

He was the initiator and curator of several important initiatives and festivals: the presentation of Zagreb culture in Copenhagen (1993), Zagreb Festival of World Music Nebo (2001), Zagreb Film Festival (2002), Festival of the First (2002), and he was artistic director of the Ogulin Festival of Fairy Tales until 2008. He founded the art organization Studio Artless in 2004 and through it he organized and produced numerous and diverse artistic events. He has won several awards in various artistic disciplines, from design, comics, set design to social action.

In the past decade he created actions that he liked to call controlled happenings, through which he has helped us to become aware of many social injustices, but also various aspects of being free. His exceptional wit and humour, whether in public or in private, will be remembered as a unique signature of Željko Zorica Shish.