Edi Hila
The Blue House (2000) by Edi Hila (b. 1944, Shkoder) forms part of a series of Home Portraits that reflect Albania's difficult political transition after the fall of the communist government in 1992, when the country embarked upon a process of political and economic reform. The Home Portraits series depict houses designed in this period of abrupt change, documenting a marked departure from the communist housing standards. These unfinished buildings nevertheless evidence architectural ambition. Working from photographs and limiting himself to muted colours, Hila has systematically excluded all superfluous detail to achieve uncluttered compositions with minimal narrative content. As a shrewd observer of the phenomena, which accompanied the advent of democracy and the emergence of capitalist, consumer culture in Albania, Hila conveys not only his attachment to his country but also a degree of awe, tempered by a certain irony.