New Exhibit at Bunk’Art 2: 'The Room of Manipulations', Revealing the Connection Between Optical Illusions and Communist Propaganda

A new section of the museum, which remains the most visited in Albania this season, is now dedicated to the “Room of Manipulations,” a unique exhibit exploring for the first time the intricate and mysterious interplay between communist propaganda and optical illusions.

 

In this room filled with illusionary games, visitors are invited to reflect on how the communist regime used manipulation techniques to shape the perception of reality. “Through a series of examples and installations,” explains Carlo Bollino, the curator of Bunk’Art and the mastermind behind this special exhibit, “visitors will discover how the art of propaganda strangely intertwines with the art of illusion, creating a distorted but convincing reality.”

 

Prepare to see the world through different eyes, as each optical illusion is paired with an impressive parallel to the techniques and narratives used by the regime in Albania to influence the minds and hearts of an entire population.

 

“This is the first time that a museum dedicated to the history of communism,” Carlo Bollino says, “recreates these surprising analogies between optical illusions and communist propaganda. An analogy also found in films produced during the regime, which, like all cinema, represent the ultimate model of illusion.”

 

Bunk’Art 2 is located in the center of Tirana, across from the City Hall, and is dedicated to the history of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with a large space devoted to the origins and methods used by the feared Sigurimi. Meanwhile, Bunk’Art 1, located on Fadil Deliu Street (behind the cable car), is housed in a massive atomic bunker with 120 rooms and five underground floors, where the history of communism in Albania is vividly reconstructed.

 

- Project supported by the Agency for the Support of Civil Society (AMSHC) with URA Center.