Vedran Ružić is a visual artist and jazz musician who plays both double bass and bass guitar. He often addresses current global issues, but also local and smaller-scale issues that are of personal concern to him. He typically uses multimedia means in his works, as he has done with the concert film-installation program Music Beyond Zen, which is also the final act of his project that has so far included the filming of the short film 6 Meters. Like this movie, the program to be presented at the Močvara Club as part of the MBZ will also shine a spotlight on local environmental tragedies of far greater magnitude than is apparent at first sight. This time, it has to do with the demolition of family homes and the devastation of the environment caused by the construction of a major infrastructure project, which includes building a new highway and the second pipe of the Učka tunnel. The tragedy of having one’s family home demolished is compounded by the growing uncertainty because it is not clear when the demolition and relocation will occur. For the Ružić family of musicians, whose house will also be torn down, this tragedy is also an opportunity to draw the general public’s attention to the events in small towns and communities in Croatia, which are often not sufficiently acknowledged in the public discourse. Their home also includes a studio called Highway, in which recordings of his brother Zvjezdan and many other distinguished jazz musicians were made, so the environmental issue is also a very important cultural issue.
The movie 6 Meters, which lasts as long as the ride from Matulji to the Učka tunnel and back, will be followed by a live performance based on the improvisation and interaction with the audience. A drummer and a percussionist will recreate the traffic noise, while Ružić himself will play on two double basses connected with strings, which in fact form the suggestive title of the composition: BAD DEED. Ružić describes this music as the music of instability with elements of randomness, corresponding to the daily states and feelings experienced by the inhabitants of the affected area. The interactive nature of the performance will be based on reminiscences and critical observation of local history: just as the author and his friends-fellow locals pelted the trucks with water balloons as children, the audience will use water balloons to pelt the sound structure made of pieces of sheet metal found in the courtyards of homes. By activating and connecting the different senses of the participants in the audience, an attempt will be made to convey the local history of the author's hometown recounted through the author’s understanding, memories and concerns, namely a man’s life. In addressing environmental and cultural issues, the project will also illustrate the fundamental preoccupation of this edition of the Biennale.
MBZ - Music Beyond Zen
concert program
6 meters
short film screening
Vedran Ružić, the author of the concept, movie and musical installation
Zvjezdan Ružić, piano
Borko Rupena, percussion
Adriano Bernobić, drum
Vedran Ružić, double bass
Riccardo Staraj, voice