"On October 5, 2000, I happened to be in Belgrade. I heard over the public speaker system in the street that Kolubara miners refused to leave the pit in protest. Several thousand people went there to show their support. This event marked the beginning of the end of the Milošević regime. Symbolically, it also marked the end of the century and the collapse of Socialism on the territories of former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, SFRY. Then my thoughts roamed towards the monumental scenes in those large-format photographs, epic in their character – those monumental scenes glorifying bravery and Socialist-style images singing the praises of the role of workers."
"The title of the work is reminiscent of the paradoxical situation in which we found ourselves in the nineties: on one hand, the miners who – despite their painstaking and honest labour and personal existence on the verge of the poverty line – remain the only ones with "clean hands" and "clear conscience", while, on the other hand, politicians and the entire ruling class, who should, ideally, serve as a role model – "the best of the best", tarnish their own reputation as they cannot resist the lust for money, profitable ‘shady dealings’ and the urge to weigh down hard on ordinary people."

Igor Grubić

The exhibition consists of a series of photos of Kolubara miners – individual and group photographs.