The project “Among the Stars, Night and Day” by Manca Baša was created to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the founding of the Radio Ljubljana Dance Orchestra in 1945, now known as the RTV Slovenia Big Band. At the same time, it serves as a reminder that peace must not be taken for granted while wars continue beneath the same starry sky.
The work reinterprets the figure of the soldier, commonly associated with violence and fear. Instead of carrying a weapon, the soldier holds a musical instrument, replacing destruction with harmony. The watercolour illustration is accompanied by the typographic phrase “Sredi zvezd, noč in dan” (“Among the Stars, Night and Day”), inspired by the Slovenian song “Zemlja pleše”. By replacing the word “earth” with “war”, the work highlights the contradiction between celebrating peace and a world that continues to move to the rhythm of conflict and suffering.
Originally developed as an illustration and poster, the project was expanded into an animation featuring original music by Julijan Andrejaš and Timotej Duvnjak, a series of interactive spot-the-difference posters and large-scale textile prints. Combining illustration, animation, music, interaction and textile, it creates a dialogue between the visual language of post-war graphic design and contemporary communication approaches.