Artist Jelena Tucak defends performance involving Tigrovi emblem

Artist Jelena Tucak has addressed the public backlash following her performance titled ‘JA SAM SPREMNA’, which involved the modification and subsequent defacement of the emblem of the 1st Guards Brigade Tigrovi on a building in Sinj.

Local officials and the HDZ party in Sinj condemned the act, stating that the emblem of the Tigrovi brigade was damaged and desecrated on the former Ivaniša Nelipić barracks, a property managed by the City of Sinj. Sinj Mayor Miro Bulj also reacted strongly to the performance.

Tucak clarified that her work was intended as an anti-war message rather than an insult to Croatian defenders or victims of the Homeland War. She stated that her intention was not to provoke new divisions or disrespect those who lost lives, but to use art to discuss the consequences of war, violence, and social trauma. She expressed regret if individuals perceived the work as a personal insult and called for respectful debate rather than threats or public attacks.