I made a big, huge painting of Europe, well not Europe but something similiar.
In fact it is European map, but very strange and awkward. It is relief map, size about
3,7 x 5 meters, where Europe is represent as an island completely isolated. Later,
above that map I shoot a movie. It is film about how Europe nowadays becoming
something else... This video shows Europe as a self-sufficient form of excistence, as
an Eutopia island which will soon become self-containment region in psychological
way. Something is very disturbing, about how we perceive Europe today. This video is
my projection of idea of Europe. In text below I use a lot of Slavoj Zizek thoughts on
Europe nowadays. The 20th century is over. A totalitarian regime is incapable of
surviving in the long run. If we want to maintain the image of ourselves we have in
the West, then we have to revisit the immense questions relating to the expansion of
democratic freedoms and to the process of self-emancipation. It is here where Europe
is most threatened. But I am convinced that we need Europe more than ever. Just
imagine a world without Europe. You would only have two poles left - the USA, with
its brutal neoliberalism, and so-called Asian capitalism, with its authoritarian political
structures. You would lose the most valuable part of the European legacy, where
democracy and freedom entail a collective action without which equality and fairness
would not be possible. We feel too guilty in Europe - our multicultural tolerance is the
effluent of a bad conscience, of a guilt complex that could cause Europe to perish. The
greatest threat to Europe is its inertia, its retreat into a culture of apathy and general
relativism. But are the refugees entering Europe not also offering themselves to
become cheap precarious workforce, in many cases at the expense of local workers,
who react to this threat by joining anti-immigrant political parties? For most of the
refugees, this will be the reality of their dream realized. The refugees are not just
escaping from their war-torn homelands; they are also possessed by a certain dream.
We can see again and again on our screens. Refugees in southern Italy make it clear
that they don’t want to stay there - they mostly want to live in Scandinavian countries.
And what about thousands camping around Calais who are not satisfied with France
but are ready to risk their lives to enter the United Kingdom? And what about tens of
thousands of refugees in Balkan countries who want to reach Germany at least? They
declare this dream as their unconditional right, and demand from European authorities
not only proper food and medical care but also the transportation to the place of their
choice. There is something enigmatically utopian in this impossible demand: as if it is
the duty of Europe to realize their dream, a dream which, incidentally, is out of reach
to most of Europeans. How many South and East Europeans would also not prefer to
live in Norway? One can observe here the paradox of utopia: precisely when people
find themselves in poverty, distress and danger, and one would expect that they would
be satisfied by a minimum of safety and well-being, the absolute utopia explodes. The
hard lesson for the refugees is that “there is no Norway,” even in Norway. They will
have to learn to censor their dreams: Instead of chasing them in reality, they should
focus on changing reality. One must thus broaden the perspective: Refugees are the
price of global economy. In our global world, commodities circulate freely, but not
people: new forms of apartheid are emerging...
In fact it is European map, but very strange and awkward. It is relief map, size about
3,7 x 5 meters, where Europe is represent as an island completely isolated. Later,
above that map I shoot a movie. It is film about how Europe nowadays becoming
something else... This video shows Europe as a self-sufficient form of excistence, as
an Eutopia island which will soon become self-containment region in psychological
way. Something is very disturbing, about how we perceive Europe today. This video is
my projection of idea of Europe. In text below I use a lot of Slavoj Zizek thoughts on
Europe nowadays. The 20th century is over. A totalitarian regime is incapable of
surviving in the long run. If we want to maintain the image of ourselves we have in
the West, then we have to revisit the immense questions relating to the expansion of
democratic freedoms and to the process of self-emancipation. It is here where Europe
is most threatened. But I am convinced that we need Europe more than ever. Just
imagine a world without Europe. You would only have two poles left - the USA, with
its brutal neoliberalism, and so-called Asian capitalism, with its authoritarian political
structures. You would lose the most valuable part of the European legacy, where
democracy and freedom entail a collective action without which equality and fairness
would not be possible. We feel too guilty in Europe - our multicultural tolerance is the
effluent of a bad conscience, of a guilt complex that could cause Europe to perish. The
greatest threat to Europe is its inertia, its retreat into a culture of apathy and general
relativism. But are the refugees entering Europe not also offering themselves to
become cheap precarious workforce, in many cases at the expense of local workers,
who react to this threat by joining anti-immigrant political parties? For most of the
refugees, this will be the reality of their dream realized. The refugees are not just
escaping from their war-torn homelands; they are also possessed by a certain dream.
We can see again and again on our screens. Refugees in southern Italy make it clear
that they don’t want to stay there - they mostly want to live in Scandinavian countries.
And what about thousands camping around Calais who are not satisfied with France
but are ready to risk their lives to enter the United Kingdom? And what about tens of
thousands of refugees in Balkan countries who want to reach Germany at least? They
declare this dream as their unconditional right, and demand from European authorities
not only proper food and medical care but also the transportation to the place of their
choice. There is something enigmatically utopian in this impossible demand: as if it is
the duty of Europe to realize their dream, a dream which, incidentally, is out of reach
to most of Europeans. How many South and East Europeans would also not prefer to
live in Norway? One can observe here the paradox of utopia: precisely when people
find themselves in poverty, distress and danger, and one would expect that they would
be satisfied by a minimum of safety and well-being, the absolute utopia explodes. The
hard lesson for the refugees is that “there is no Norway,” even in Norway. They will
have to learn to censor their dreams: Instead of chasing them in reality, they should
focus on changing reality. One must thus broaden the perspective: Refugees are the
price of global economy. In our global world, commodities circulate freely, but not
people: new forms of apartheid are emerging...
EUtopia
intermedia project 2015/2016
relief map / film / video / interactive map / photography / installation