BRUCE LEE STATUE

Laugh it up, but this statue (Spomenik Bruce Leeju) is a rare sign of rapprochement between Mostar's communities. The project was born in 2004. The local Urban Movement association came up with the idea of a statue that would appeal to the city's youth as a whole. A vote was organized among young Bosnian-Serbs, Bosnian-Croats and Bosnians. Several names were put to them: Tito, the Pope, Gandhi... In the end, the Sino-American Kung Fu King was chosen. In 2005, Croatian sculptor Ivan Fijolić (b. 1975) unveiled the statue in Zrinjevac Park, in the heart of western Mostar: a gleaming, almost life-size Bruce Lee in bronze. Ready for battle, he holds his nunchaku under his right arm, left hand outstretched. The only inscription addressed to young people is "Bruce Lee, your Mostar". But nationalists fear that this foreign hero, part comedian, part philosopher, will distract the younger generation from the values they fought for. And the question arises, in all seriousness: which district does the little dragon turn his palm towards: the mosques or the Catholic cathedral? Both sides are offended. The sculpture is vandalized. Removed for repair, it returns. Then it leaves again. It is believed to have been kidnapped. The story is fascinating. French writer Camille de Toledo even wrote a novel about it(Oublier, trahir, puis disparaître, ed. Seuil, 2013). In fact, the sculptor had just borrowed it for an exhibition in Zagreb. Bruce Lee has since returned to Zrinjevac Park.