Abetare Postcard (Statue of Liberty with flying birds), 2026

In this series, Petrit Halilaj reworks postcards by adding doodles that extend beyond the postcards as metal sculptures. The drawings are based on marks once carved into elementary school desks in Kosovo, including figures, words, and simple symbols such as hearts, houses, birds, and clouds. By recreating these traces in three dimensions, Halilaj connects personal and collective memory to the present, highlighting the everyday creativity of children in a new context.

The series is part of Halilaj’s project Abetare, named after the traditional Albanian school book used to teach children to read and write through depictions of daily life. These books were often shared among families and played an important role in preserving cultural identity. In the 1990s, during the final Balkan wars, Halilaj and his peers learned from these books. Through Abetare, he translates those early experiences—of learning, place, and community—into sculptural form, underscoring themes of connection, resilience, and cultural continuity.

In 2024, Halilaj took over the MET Rooftop in New York with the metal sculptures from the Abetare series. Earlier iterations were also presented at the Kölnischer Kunstverein (2015) and the Second Edition of the Mario Merz Prize in Turin (2017), where his presentation won the prize.