Albanian artist uses public art to raise breast cancer awareness, facing misinformation and institutional resistance.
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Artist Blerta Kambo created an installation titled “The sun of the following day” on the mosaic at the National Museum of Albania to raise public awareness about breast cancer. The artwork featured a bald female figure, intended to provoke thought and initiate debate in a public space. Although the project required months of negotiation due to the mosaic’s protected status, its unveiling led to a wave of misinformation and hate speech online, with some misinterpreting the figure as a symbol of transgender identity. Kambo clarified that the baldness represented the painful, visible loss of identity associated with the illness, and the detail on the chest symbolized a mastectomy. The artist criticized the media for selectively editing her statements and highlighted the harmful nature of “clickbait.” Despite the backlash, she found support from other women affected by the disease. Kambo expressed disappointment with the lack of support for socially challenging art in Albania, suggesting that institutions prefer “safer” projects, leading her to consider leaving the country again. The installation remains a powerful symbol of both fragility and strength, achieving its goal of sparking debate.
