The conceptual installation “One day” is a new cultural and tourist landmark of Novi Sad and Serbia, an original work of art signed by the legendary, Yoko Ono, and which, as part of the celebration of the great jubilee and one hundred years since the end of World War I, EXIT Foundation in 2018 started the project “First World Peace”. The conceptual installation “One day” was realized within the program arch “Fortress of Peace” behind which stands “Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture”. The idea of this program platform is to affirm Novi Sad as a promoter of regional reconciliation and stability, through art and culture, that is, through the implementation of artistic and cultural programs that promote reconciliation or inclusion of artists from the region. This first phase was realized with the support of the City of Novi Sad and the company NIS through the program “Communities together”.
In cooperation with the legendary multimedia artist and peace activist Yoko Ono, this monument of peace was opened at the Petrovaradin Fortress on June 28, 2019, on the Day of Peace in the First World War.
It was made based on the motifs of the traditional Serbian ship “Šajka”, which is part of the Serbian cultural heritage (the traditional hat “Šajkača” was named after Šajka), and which was used by border guards from the time of the Military Frontier. The sculpture represents a powerful fusion of cultural heritage with the contemporary art of Yoko Ono and the creative industry manifested in EXIT.
The sculpture is a modified version of the ready-made model of a traditional river boat that Ono adapted, white in color, illuminated from the inside to make the boat shine in the dark. It represents a poetic and mysterious scene – an apparition between heaven and earth. The sculpture was made in memory of the end of the First World War, in which millions of lives were lost, mostly young men. She chose a river boat in order to anchor her work in the Serbian reality. However, sculpture represents an object and a form with broader connotations and symbolic meaning.
It carries layered meanings related to the wars fought on the Serbian rivers Danube and Sava, but more than that – it speaks of people in general, people fleeing the horrors of war by boat, including the recent migration of refugees across the Mediterranean. This boat has both mythological and universal significance. Sailing on the sea, the boat can be seen as a symbol of the journey through life, and as such allows us to embark on that journey, regardless of whether we travel with the power of conviction, for education, desire or curiosity.
This work of art represents the Petrovaradin Fortress around the world as a fortress of peace.