16. “Silent Mass” by Arijana Lekić-Fridrih in Rijeka
2. 3. 2024. / 08:30 Grivica Square in front of the Cathedral of St. Vid in Rijeka
This Saturday (2. 3.), the sixteenth “Silent Mass” – a collective intervention in public space by the artist Arijana Lekić-Fridrih will be held on Rijeka’s Grivica Square .
“Silent mass” is held as a reaction to men who kneel in alleged prayer every first Saturday of the month in a dozen cities across Croatia. The previous “Silent Mass”, held at the Peristyle in Split, was dedicated to all strong and powerful women who fight the patriarchal system every day. The performative action of the artist in Split resulted in the inappropriate behavior of the Split police, while the artist herself was prevented from performing the duly reported artistic-activist action. The president of the Domino association Zvonimir Dobrović made an official statement about the shameful behavior of the Split police. Particularly problematic were the facts (confirmed by the video recordings) that the orderlies and organizers of the “suppliers” in Split gave direct orders and instructions to the Split police regarding who was allowed and who was not allowed to go to Peristil. The orders from the organizers of the “suppliants” – how to act and regulate their gathering – were zealously and dutifully carried out by the Split police. In addition, the organizers openly threatened the police that if Arijana approaches them, they don’t know how the “suppliers” will react, and that it is therefore “better” for everyone to limit her movement on the public surface. The Split police themselves later confirmed their biased position in a statement, saying that they have the right to carry out all actions based on security assessments. Their security assessments “in the key of patriarchy” result in them seeing one artist as a danger to public order and peace, and not dozens of men who openly tell the police that they cannot guarantee her safety. This is the nexus of everything that was happening in Split, and everything is still without the necessary permits obtained for public gathering, which closes and fences off a part of the public area to which women are denied access.
Thus, for almost a year and a half, every first Saturday of the month in Croatia, gatherings have been held which, through the symbolism of praying the rosary, emphasize the additional inequality of women, limiting their free movement and calling for the reduction of their civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The parallel and regular holding of Arijana Lekić-Fridrih’s Silent Mass indicates the systematic sending of messages of hatred by a group of men towards women, as well as the fact that we have reached a situation where women are not safe and are once again fighting for their long-acquired rights.
Today, when we know that the Ordo Iuris Foundation stands behind these “prayers”, we don’t have to wonder what future they have in store for us, but we will fight so that those who come after us do not have to fight like this, and we will leave behind a society where women are equal, protected before the law and far from the margins where most women find themselves today. In this fight, unfortunately, we do not have allies in the politicians who are responsible for reacting to such social anomalies, but we hope that in the election year we will at least hear apologies or explanations as to why this has been the case for more than a year and whether this is Croatia as they see it and after the upcoming elections. It is up to us as responsible citizens to warn for the SIXTEENTH time about a public, organized and paid campaign that calls out the inequality that is guaranteed to us by the Constitution – regardless of whether it takes place in the form of a “prayer” of the rosary. Every citizen of this country has the right to report a rally if the message of the rally does not violate or suppress the freedom of others.
The group we stand against very explicitly calls for the subordinate role of women. Our message is clear and unified: women in this society should be protected from violence – that from “prayer” and that in the family. As a country, we do not have strong enough mechanisms for this, women may have become a political topic today, but they are still left to their own devices, unequal in every way, both in life and in death.
This Saturday in Rijeka, Arijana Lekić-Fridrih will once again stand in front of the kneeling men and during the “Silent Mass” performance, lay red roses and place posters with textual instructions for the kneeling men such as:
“ACT ONE: GET YOUR OWN!”
“SECOND ACT: ON YOUR KNEES!”
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE PRAYING IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH?”
“ARE YOU JUST AN ELECTION PROPRIETARY?”
“9 WOMEN WERE KILLED IN CROATIA LAST YEAR”
“NOT ONE MORE!”
Arijana Lekić-Fridrih was born in Zagreb, where she lives and works. She completed the study of Film and Video at the Academy of Arts in Split and the study of Film and TV Directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. In her activist and artistic work, she deals with the position of marginalized groups and the role of responsible citizenship, her works live and are created in public space and always have a common goal of change – in society, in public opinion, in each individual. He regularly exhibits in Croatia and abroad.
The artistic action “Silent Mass” is supported by the Solidarna Foundation through the Women’s Fund as part of Program Support for NGOs. It is co-financed by the European Union through the Transatlantic Foundation, the PROTEUS program, as part of the project “Women’s Right to a Life Free from Violence”.
