MM6

Paper Gallery, together with the Prishtina Biennale and as part of the project “In Our Hands”, presented the exhibition of Etnik Shala titled “MM6”. This exhibition, the first solo presentation of Etnik Shala, features pieces from his collections such as Geisha, Wounded Swan, Kornizë Marubi, Brymë, Cage, Goblen Movement, and Etnikografi.

“Unë kam shum’ cka me kallxua
Vij nga Bjeshkët që jan’ Mallkua
S’jam vorros për me dëshmua”

"I have so much to tell
I come from the cursed mountains
I am not buried so that I may testify"

It is with these verses that this story begins—because it truly is a story. A story about a land of ‘no one,’ with a unique destiny. A place where ideology has been devalued and where grand narratives lose their weight, leaving only history and photographs as their witnesses.

Etnik Shala bows with pride before the marvel of Albanian ethnography. With unmatched modesty, the designer treats the Xhubleta as a temple, as a sacred book that carries within it the spirit and history of one of the world’s earliest civilizations.

"The histories of other peoples are generally carved in stone, while Albanian history is embroidered in the Xhubleta, a 4,000-year-old treasure."

Visually grand and chromatically powerful, while engaging with serious themes such as history and ethnography, Etnik Shala regards fashion as art. Combined with extraordinary technical skill, this vision results in his remarkable collections.