Sparina Kocke
(The Sultriness of Kocka)
feat. Heidi V. & Olga M.2025_Galerija Kluba Kocka, Split/Croatia
photos: Matea Parat & Nina Grbić
photos: A. Erdmann, Matea Parat & Nina Grbić
photos: A. Erdmann, Matea Parat & Nina Grbić
collages series “Memory F(r)agments”, 2025, various materials (l.t.r.):
“Shape-Shifting”, “Patterns and Repetitions”,”Queer Kocka as a Recipe”, “Lost and Found”, “plesnjaQ 5”, “Die Schwüle und der Schwule (The Sultriness and the Gay)”, “Loss & Grief”
Sparina Kocke (The Sultriness of Kocka)
feat. Heidi V. & Olga M.
2025
Galerija Kluba Kocka, Split/Kroatien
solo exhibition
various materials
The exhibition “Sparina Kocka“ emerged from a research in Split in January 2025. Invited by queerANarchive collective, die Blaue Distanz connected with the local queer community and got introduced to Klub Kocka: a venue recognized by the queers as a “safer space.” Through meetings and interviews with protagonists of the scene, die Blaue Distanz captured how the queer community in Split found its place in Klub Kocka, an alternative club with punk and anarchist roots and almost 30 years of activity, even though the broader post-Yugoslav society remained largely hostile and threatening towards queer people.
The joint effort of the artists and local community to map, archive and thus preserve the memory of this unique club space, its social dynamics and emotions, has been further stimulated by the likely imminent closure of the club and the renovation of the entire Dom mladih (Youth Center) building where the club operates. That is precisely why the exhibition “Sparina Kocka“ is grounded in experimental, collective archiving and collaborative practices and is situated in the gallery space right next to the club. Guests can expect a variety of traces of (potential) queer histories that form layers of Klub Kocka’s history.
Historical moments such as the first queer party “plesnjaQ“, the atmosphere and sexual charge, patterns and their repetitions, are themes of the exhibited collages. The idea of a timeline got queered by and with all the fragments that form the not all the time obviously queer history of Kocka, while a map on the floor reflects on the role of resilience. A sketchy reconstruction of the famous dance floor pillar is stating a new center in the gallery. During the opening hours, she is even able to talk and shares stories of queer love and events that have unfolded at and around the dance floor over the past thirty years. Alongside a perfume, created by Heidi V. and Olga M., that captures and conveys the space’s fragrant essence, the exhibition also features a research table where visitors can browse through collected materials.
On the opening day of the exhibition, the research table serves as the setting for the „Archival Jam“ workshop. It offers insights into research materials (field notes, personal stories, photographs, maps) collected in and around Klub Kocka and asks the questions: What spatial aspects define the unique character of queer spaces? Are there archetypes of queer space? If so, what are their defining characteristics?
Curator: Tonči Kranjčević Batalić
Poster Design: Nikola Križanac
Photos: Matea Parat, Nina Grbić, A. Erdmann
Funding: Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Ministarstvo kulture i medija Republike Hrvatske, Grad Split, Zaklada Kultura nova
Partners: Multimedijalni kulturni centar, Platforma Doma mladih, Koalicija udruga mladih, Kino klub Split, LGBT Centar Split
Thanks to: Nikolina Banić, Karmelo “Chmite” Marin, Ivan B., Joni Ulla, Lea, Katarina Duplančić Dugopoljac, Igor Mihovilović, Tonči, Igor, and all the (anonymous) contributors of our online survey and participants of “Queer Memories Kocka” event 01/2025 in Split
