Đuka Siroglavić: From the Battlefield to the Guinness Book of Records
Croatian veteran and multimedia artist, author of the world's largest painting, reveals new plans for a gallery dedicated to the Homeland War on Victory Day.
Croatian veteran and multimedia artist, author of the world's largest painting, reveals new plans for a gallery dedicated to the Homeland War on Victory Day.
In Gornji Tkalec, a place near Vrbovec, a man whose life path is as monumental as his works of art has been living and creating since 2010. Đuka Siroglavić, born in 1962 in Slavonski Brod, is a volunteer and Croatian veteran who today celebrates his homeland through the brush, the word, and the sculptor's chisel.
His story of going to war is deeply personal and sincere. Since 1987, he lived in Zagreb's Vrbani neighborhood, which in 1991 had about 7,000 residents. When Croatia was attacked, he did not hesitate. "I was one of 70 citizens of Vrbani who volunteered to defend Croatia," recalls Siroglavić. "If it hadn't been for 'fools' like me, there would be no Croatia."
His war path led him to Slavonia, to Cernička Šagovina near Nova Gradiška, where he served as a scout in the 121st Brigade of the Croatian Army. His motivation was crystal clear: "I became a volunteer and Croatian veteran because I have a heart and soul, because I am a Croat, and Croatia was attacked. I had to defend it."
He immortalized his war experiences in the book "We Kept Company with Death," which he wrote with his former wife Sonja. The work, which has seen nine editions, is not just a personal confession. "The book deals with war themes. It is a kind of monument to all Croatian veterans," emphasizes Siroglavić, one of the first volunteers from Vrbani to go to the Homeland War.
His artistic expression has reached global proportions. Siroglavić is the author of the world's largest painting, a monumental work titled "The Wave." This oil on canvas, 6,400 meters long, 1.5 to 1.7 meters high, with a total area of 10,800 square meters, was created from February to July 2007 in the barracks at Borongaj. The record was officially recorded in the Guinness Book of Records on July 25, 2007.
However, Siroglavić's art also has a strong humanitarian note. Through the "Humana art" Association, which he led, he organized 10 art colonies. He donated all the resulting works to associations for the blind and visually impaired in Rijeka and Pula, to the children of fallen Croatian veterans, and to HVIDR-a. In total, he has donated over 3,500 paintings for humanitarian purposes, of which 2,500 are his own works.
His creative fervor does not wane. In his workshop, Siroglavić is currently shaping sculptures that will, as he says, speak of Croatia's victory in the Homeland War through their energy and strength. "The exhibited sculptures will be symphonies of our victory in the Homeland War," the artist announces. There are also plans to open a gallery that, according to him, should open its doors next year, thus completing the story of a man who defended his homeland with his heart and now celebrates it through art.
