Petrit Halilaj

Do you realise there is a rainbow even if it’s night!? comprises giant fabric moths illuminated by flickering lightbulbs. These vividly coloured creatures are suspended at various heights, caught in swirling motions of flight.

Woven into their construction is a strong sense of familial history and memory. Halilaj worked closely with his mother Shkurte over many months to create the sculptures. The materials include Kosovar fabrics such as Qilim and Dyshek carpets. During this process, the two discussed Halilaj’s childhood memories. When he was younger, Halilaj would chase moths around the light bulbs in his family house in Kostërrc – a home which was destroyed during the Kosovo War (1998-9).

The moths transform from static sculptures hanging in space into costumes that the artist wears as part of live performances. Halilaj has said: ’I can enter [into this costume] and the body disappears, becoming an insect. So, with this idea of hiding and becoming an insect, I just escaped another time to talk and confess about something that is still too complicated … I would try to dream something beyond verbal, a different kind of language that would be added to my body.’

Halilaj often uses moths as a motif in his work. They are fragments of childhood memories, nostalgia and resilience, resonating with the larger social and political context of conflict and displacement. They can symbolise the persistence of optimism and metamorphosis.