The exhibition was organized in the Belgrade City Library on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the death of Borislav Pekić (1930 – 1992). Later, she recorded numerous guest appearances in the country and abroad (France, Canada, Montenegro, etc.). During the exhibition’s installation in the Serbian Cultural Center in Paris, a catalogue in French was also published.

Borislav Pekić : 1930-1992 : Exposition de la Biblioteque de la ville de Belgrade a l’occasion du 80e anniversaire de la naissanse de Borislav Pekić : Centre culturel de Serbie, Paqris du 25 mars au 20 avril 2010 / auteur de l’exposition et du catalogue Olga Krasić-Marjanović ; traduction en Francais Ivana Misirlić. – Belgrade : Ministere de la Culture de la Republique de Serbie; Biblioteque de la Ville de Belgrade. – 16 str. : ilustr; 25 cm. – ISBN 978-86-7191-193-1

A multimedia project dedicated to the life and work of one of the greatest Serbian writers of the second half of the 20th century, it is an attempt to use photography, documentation, personal items, manuscripts, as well as video and audio documentation to once again draw attention to the timeless values ​​and books that he dealt with and which were written by Borislav Pekić: novelist, storyteller, playwright, essayist, screenwriter. Such documentary exhibitions are always an attempt to use visual communication to peek into great literature, the writer’s “workshop”, and an accomplished and relevant biography.

The extensive content of the exhibition is presented on thirty-eight large posters, which are divided into two parts. The first follows the sixty-two-year-old life of Borislav Pekić from his earliest childhood to his last moments. The biographical part is divided into several posters: Childhood, which illustrates numerous photos from the family album – photos with grandmother, parents, uncle, schoolmates, and stay in Cetinje, Knin, Slovenia, Bavanište. The second poster follows the youth spent in the Third Male Gymnasium in Belgrade and then in the Correctional Centers in Niš and Sremska Mitrovica. This period of life is illustrated by numerous court documents related to the arrest and imprisonment of young Pekić, then the political secretary of the League of Democratic Youth of Yugoslavia. The judgment on deprivation of liberty with the forced labor of the District Court for the City of Belgrade K-147/49 and the request for pardon were presented. The personal correspondence of young Pekić with his family, which was kept during his five-year stay in prison, is of particular value.

The poster with Ljiljana reveals photos that record the wedding, the first trips in the early 1960s, youthful socializing, but also the doctor’s findings about tuberculosis. The 20-year stay in London is represented by photographs of different London addresses and Pekić’s portraits at his desk, in the garden, with a tape recorder on which he recorded concepts and thoughts about future novels. One part shows the passport that was confiscated from the writer just before leaving for London and the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court on the confiscation of the passport.

Several pages of diary entries were selected from the writer’s manuscript material, and many charters, awards and recognitions awarded to the writer for books, radio dramas and theatre performances were scanned from the Pekić family’s rich archive. Separate posters presented the novels: “Vreme čuda“, “Hodočašće Arsenija Njegovana“, the series “Zlatno runo“, “Besnilo“, “Atlantida“, as well as the awarding of the NIN, Goran and Njegoš awards.

The poster entitled “Democrat” presents photos of the events of March 9, the student protest at the Terazije fountain, the founding assembly of the Democratic Party, in which B. Pekić participated.
All the texts on the posters accompanying and commenting on the events were selected from Pekić’s diary entries and numerous interviews, with minimal comments by the author of the exhibition.
The second significant part of the exhibition is represented by posters that accompany Pekić’s creativity: novelist, storyteller, tireless writer of diary entries, as well as a playwright whose plays were performed on theatre stages. Research conducted in theatre archives and in the archives of The Museum of Theatrical Arts of Serbia indicates thirteen premieres in Belgrade theatres.

Photographs and accompanying texts from newspaper reviews record performances, starting in 1971 and the premiere of “Kako zabavljati gospodina Martina” at the National Theatre, through “Besnilo” in Belgrade Drama Theater, cult performances of “Korešpodencija” in the Atelier 212, until the premiere of “Zlatnog runa” from 2001 and the play “X+Y=0″ which were performed on the stage of the Belgrade Drama Theatre.

This multimedia project is accompanied by many videos that illustrate Pekić’s work: Interviews given to journalists of RTV Belgrade, TV dramas, and recordings of theatre performances.

A DVD which visually represents the life and creativity of the writer, was made from the abundance of materials collected while working on this project.

The exhibition can be viewed here.

The catalogue can be viewed here.