MIGRANTS IN EUROPE

Describe your idea and concept of your work in relation to the festival outlines:

The poster I have created came to being in context of the task we were given at graphic design classes in the second semester of my first year at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Our task was to participate in a competition "MIGRANTS IN EUROPE", which is organised by European Union and the instructions that professor of graphic design gave us, were to create something with a positive connotation based on a very weird text from the webpage of the competition.

Every thought on European Union, that arose to me, had a very negative touch and about the EU institution as such I have no positive ideas at all. Regarding the instructions that I got and my thoughts, all this lead me to creating something hidden, sublime, actually to oppress my own thoughts and hide them into an image of something beautiful. This of course is bad, dishonest and unethical. To repair this mess in my head, I needed guidance of another professor, who then became my mentor and his approach let me be much more honesty to myself and my work.

I think migrations (immigrations and emigrations) are very important and for cultural diversity crucial. This process means income of subjective experiences of individuals to a certain environment and study of such elements of migrations, revealed to me that this topic could be much more interesting than it first occurred to me. I quickly came to a different approach of showing the topic of migrations, because I've discovered that also other things apart from human beings migrate, but mainly with the help of humans. This approach I thought would show other qualities and not only illustrate the term migration.

In these days I think a lot about my personal nutrition and the blunder of corporations, that feed me with stuff I don't even know what it is. Because of the general life rhythm I buy my food in big shopping centres which offer us food that mainly comes from other places, because there is not a lot of local food systems - that means that with help of human intervention food migrates to another environment. This food migration I think is a very interesting topic; thinking about tomato led me to thoughts about colonialism, the biggest genocide that happened at transition from the middle ages, about plantation and production of genetically manipulated "plastic" food.

I have searched the food that has the least European roots and among these selected the most recognisable ones. I impersonated this food to create the relation between human and food, and these food-people walk on the background where I used EU symbols in a cliche sense. This poster is a visual collage where these different art techniques come together a little non-aesthetic and show childishness and primitivity.

Slovenian translation / slovenski prevod:

Plakat, ki sem ga izdelal je nastal v sklopu naloge, ki smo jo imeli pri grafičnem oblikovanju v drugem semestru, prvega letnika grafičnega oblikovanja.

Naloga je bila sodelovanje v natečaju "MIGRANTS IN EUROPE", ki ga organizirana Evropska Unija in navodila profesorja so bila ustvariti nekaj s pozitivno noto.

Vsaka misel o Evropski Uniji, ki se mi je prodila, je imela negativno konotacijo, o instituciji kot taki, nimam nobenih pozitivnih idej. To me je vodilo v ustvarjanje nekaj skritega, sublimnega, zatreti svoje lastne misli in jih skriti v podobo nekaj lepega. To je seveda slabo, neiskreno in ne-etinčno.

Migracije (imigracije in emigracije) se mi zdijo izjemno pomembne in za kulturno raznovrstnost temeljne. Pomenijo prinos osebnih neobjektiviziranih izkušenj posameznikov v neko okolje in študija teh prvin migracij, se mi je pokazala kot izjemno zanimiva. Migrirajo pa tudi druge stvari in druga živa bitja kot le ljudje, vendar večinoma z njegovo intervencijo.

V zadnjih časih se veliko ukvarjam z osebno prehrano in blodnjo korporacij, ki me hranijo s stvarmi, za katere sploh ne vem kaj so. Hrana, ki jo zaradi splošnega življenskega ritma, kupujem v tgovskih kompleksih večinoma prihaja od drugod, ni lokalne samooskrbe - migrira torej v naše okolje s pomočjo človekove intervencije. Ta migracija hrane se mi zdi zelo zanimiva debata, ko sem s to podlago pomislil na paradižnik sem ga asociiral s kolonializmom, največjim genocidom ob prehodu iz starega veka, plantažno proizvodnjo in genetično manipulirano "plastično" hrano.

Poiskal sem hrano, ki ima najmanj evropske korenine in med temi izbral najbolj prepoznavne. To hrano sem poosebil, da se ustvari korelacija med človekom in hrano, stopajo po odzadju kjer sem uporabil simbole EU v klišejskem smislu. Plakat je likovni kolaž, različne tehnike viplivajo na neestetsko konotacijo, otroškost in primitivnost.

What kind of communication approach do you use?

Despite the "beautiful" food the non-aesthetic approach created some kind of personal statement that cooperates with the choice of symbols. I hope this makes the viewer think and question, I didn't want to bring everything on a plate, that would not be communication at all. The poster is in contrast to the capitalist and market aesthetics which I think would position the poster into the environment in a culture jamming sense. Slovenian translation / slovenski prevod: Kljub "lepemu" sadju sem z neestetskim pristopom ustvaril nek oseben komentar, ki je podkrepjen z izbiro elementov. Upam, da to gledalcu da mislit, da plakat spodbudi razmišljanje in ne izraža in prenaša mnenja direktno. Plakat je tudi v kontrastu kapitalistični in tržni estetiki, s tem mislim, da bi se ga dalo pozicionirat v družbeno okolje v principu "culture jaminga".

What are in your opinion concrete benefits to the society because of your communication?

I did not have intention of participating in the competition MIGRANTS IN EUROPE, but as it came as required thing to do in our school I had to do it. So I did not work with the will to create something they will like, but I worked to provoke. Even in relation to the posters of my school mates my poster had a different approach and I think it points to other things than only to the praising of cultural diversity, which is anyway in the shadow of institutions that control it.

I did not help in solving the problem they created but pointed out the other problems connected to this one. I did not want to create another EU commercial, which I think they are after with this competition, but I tried to communicate my vision and give the public space an opportunity to start thinking about the things on my poster with their own thoughts.

Slovenian translation / slovenski prevod:

V natečaju MIGRANTS IN EUROPE nisem imel namen sodelovati, ampak, ker je v sklopu študijskega programa to obvezno, mislim, da sem ustvaril plakat, ki ni bil ustvarjan z željo po zmagi ampak željo po provokaciji. Že v odnosu z plakati sošolcev ima drugačen pridih in teži k drugim stvarem kot zgolj opevanju kulturne raznovrstnosti, ki je tako ali tako zasenčena z institucijami, ki jo kontrolirajo.

Problemov nisem reševal, ampak izpostavil še druge in jih povezal s izhodiščnim. EU nisem želel narediti reklame, ki si je želijo, ampak sporočati o stanju skozi svoje oči in družbi o tej organizaciji dati nekaj izhodišč za lastne misli.

What did you personally learn from creating your submitted work?

I suppose that I complicate too much. For example I don't know if you can see the stars that go out of format as a colonisation of European Union. On the other hand I learned that competitions are very layered and that I should investigate them to the roots and see how they will impact the society.

I found out that even some professors on academic institutions try to manipulate our thoughts and the content of our work they submit to such competitions, and that's why I listened to people by which I hadn't had such feeling. Now I think critical approach to the objectivezed is very important and the only way to progress.

Slovenian translation / slovenski prevod:

Predvidevam, da preveč kompliciram. Npr. to da se zvezde širijo iz formata najvrjetneje nihče ne bo razumel kot konolizacijo. Naučil sem se, da so natečaji lahko večplastni in da jih je potrebno podrobno pregledati ter ugotoviti na kak način vplivajo na družbo.

Ugotovil sem, da profesorji na akademskih institucijah želijo močno vplivati na naše razmišljanje in vsebino izdelkov, ki se pošiljajo na take natečaje, temu sem se poskušal izogniti. Kritičen odnos do objektiviziranega se mi sedaj zdi zelo pomemben in edini način kako napredovati.

Why is your work, GOOD communication WORK?

In the view of profession I worked whit in (poster - - graphic design), this is not very aesthetic product. But anyway I find such approach as very interesting way to communicate, it brings to our environment another way of looking at things and this I think can create a new idea in viewers thoughts that he has to develop on his own.

Maybe the thoughts of viewer will stop at evaluation of the basic image I created and the content would be then in the shadow of this thinking. But as soon the viewer can feel my personal involvement on the topic, I think he will understand that it is designed as it is on purpose. So I think I created conditions for dialog, which until now was very interesting with everyone I showed the poster to.

Slovenian translation / slovenski prevod:

V pogledih stroke, s stališča katere do izdelka pristopam (plakat - oblikovanje), je izdelek na nizki ravni, estetsko je nekakovosten. Ta pristop pa se mi zdi zanimiv iz stališča komuniciranja, mislim, da v okolje prinaša nek drugačen pristop in o sami temi podaja nedotično kritičnost, ki jo mora gledalec razvit sam.
Morda se bo ta kritika zaradi tega pristopa dotikala dela samega in vsebinsko ne bo toliko jasna. Je pa vsebina predstavljena tudi na nekoliko duhovit način in če gledalec začuti mojo osebno vpletenost mislim, da lahko razume, da je tako narejeno z razlogom. Tako mislim, da ustvarjam pogoje za dialog, ki sem ga do sedaj s ljudmi, ki sem jim plakat pokazal, vedno doživel kot zanimivo izkušnjo.

Where and how do you intent do implement your work?

Plakat bo torej sodeloval na natačaju MIGRANTI V EVROPI in tudi odločitev, da ga predstavim na MEMEFESTU je odgovor na to vprašanje. Plakat bo predstavljen tudi na semesterski razstavi skupaj z drugimi deli, hkrati pa ga širim med prijatelji, sorodniki in znanci ko se pogovarjamo o debatah s podobno ali to vsebino.
Če bi plakat podprl z kako spletno stranjo, kjer bi dialog z gledalci dobil novo razsežnost, bi ga morda natisnil in v stilu gverilske akcije nalepil po slovenskih ulicah.

Did your intervention had an effect on other Media. If yes, describe the effect? (Has other media reported on it- how? Were you able to change other media with your work- how?)

Response of institutions and media will be revealed after 21. 6. 2013. when competition MIGRANTS IN EUORPE will conclude.

Slovenian translation / slovenski prevod:

Odziv institucij in medijev se bo pokazal po 20. 6. ko se bo natečaj zaključil.