Built with Berta

  2. BADLANDS (2011 - 2013)

    In 2011 I started contemplating about the juxtaposition of younger Slovenian generation with peripheral landmarks like archeological and construction sites, that are often left barren, exposited to water erosion, which permanently washes away enormous quantities of soil, that is sometimes lost forever. 

    It appeared like a metaphor of long lost perspectives by younger people in Slovenia. I could name all the places that represent social injustice simply as badlands. But in my perception badlands are also all the places that youngsters appropriate to get away from their anxieties, fear of the future and madness of contemporary society.

    I thought of a simple but still complex depiction of my friend's social space. While I was 23 he was slowly turning 30. It all seemed, as there was no future and no chances of presenting what we do as young creative humans. Now no one takes creativity seriously anymore, because all people think creativity is something that comes from popular culture. In my home municipality, creative people are left only with uncharacterized, low-profile places and semi-squatted buildings, where they can or could create or develop critical thinking.

    For my friend, who I was following, feature seemed as abstract as this very moment... something that does not exist outside it's uncertainty.


    After spending a lot of time with him, talking and exploring new dimensions of known places, I came up with this statement:


    “We are all wasted...only some wander more. We belong to a generation, so deviated and hated. Some of us would like to live at another time in the past. Some would like to live in the future. We don’t need much. Just opportunity to live a decent life... Landscapes of the future are high and metaphorical. The society reminds us of its determination that our existence is selfish each and every single day. But the perception of everyone is weakened. We cannot identify our strengths, because we cannot experience a chance to fail... Meanwhile the definition of ageing has changed. Ageing has become a process of mental preparation for our own deaths. At 23 I am among the oldest people alive; only changes are consistent.”


    Aljaž Celarc, May 2012 

    I believe that era without prosperity is coming ahead for countries like Slovenia, because younger people are gaining their economic and social independence more belatedly. That is a consequence of enormous generation gap and misunderstanding: even family members can barely trust in intentions of another... This is especially evident after the country was severely struck by impulsive economic crisis in 2008. Careful observer can depict it especially in politics, economy, households, etc. The elder generation is not willing to hand the wheel to a younger one.


    Even before crisis young people were used to live without any warranty for the future (for example property where you can settle). Now this position became something rather regular for us. As a result different understandings of the "possession" aspired.

    
Social injustice is the erosion!


    Omnia mea mecum porto.

    This is also a part of my personal story.


  3. Badlands exhibition, Stična, Slovenia

  4. BADLANDS, tekst k razstavi

    *Termin badlands je v Geografskem terminološkem slovarju razumljen kot pokrajinska oblika, ki je posledica denudacije in ekstremne erozije. Beseda izvira iz Združenih držav Amerike, kjer so tovrstna erozijska žarišča ena najmarkantnejših reliefnih oblik srednjega zahoda, narodni park Badlands pa je najbolj prepoznavna turistična atrakcija zvezne države Južna Dakota. Naslov razstave je referenca na ameriško popularno kulturo, kjer so badlandsi metafora za gospodarsko nestabilnost v tridesetih letih 20. stol. in humanitarno katastrofo Velikega peščenega viharja, ki je povzročila pomembne spremembe v ameriški družbi, kar je najbolj nazorno opisal John Steinbeck v romanu Sadovi jeze. Naslov je tudi besedna igra, ki jo v slovenščino prevedemo kot slabe dežele.

    Leta 2011 sem pričel o razmišljati vzporednicah mlajše generacije Slovencev in obrobnih elementih pokrajine, kot so npr. arheološka najdišča in gradbišča, ki sem jih dokumentiral. Oboja so pogosto zapuščena in gola, izpostavljena eroziji, ki trajno odnaša velike količine prsti, ta je tako pogosto za vedno izgubljena. To je preraslo v metaforo za okrnjene možnosti mlajših generacij, zato lahko vse prostore, ki predstavljajo socialno nepravičnost, v prenesenem pomenu imenujemo Badlands. Badlands so okolja, ki so si jih mladi prisvojili, kamor so se zatekli pred svojimi strahovi, negotovo prihodnostjo in norostjo prevladujoče kulture.

    Projekt se je pričel z vpraševanjem o socialnem prostoru dobrega prijatelja. Kaj je socialni prostor in kje se stika s pokrajino? Kako izgledajo stiki mlajše generacije z naravo? Kakšne mentalne pokrajine ustvarjajo? Vse to je vodilo v vpraševanje o možnostih mladih v prihodnosti, predvsem ustvarjalcev na področju alternativne kulture. V okolju, ki ni ne ruralno in ne urbano, je verjetnost, da bi mladi umetniki, glasbeniki ali fotografi, ki razvijajo kritične družbene pristope, predstavili svoje delo, majhna. Njihovo zbiranje in delovanje je tako pogosto potisnjeno izven zakona in izven pozornosti vrstnikov. Prisvojeni prostori, kot npr. prostori za vaje glasbenih skupin, so bili dolgo tabuizirani. Prihodnost mladih se zdi oddaljena in abstraktna, kot je sedanjost, ki ne obstaja brez temeljnega ontološkega dvoma.

    Verjetno se s podobnimi težavami srečujejo tudi druge tranzicijske države, toda Slovenija je specifičen primer. Mladi dosežejo ekonomsko in družbeno neodvisnost vse pozneje, kar lahko razumemo kot posledico prepada med generacijami in krize vrednot. Slednje lahko zasledimo tudi v osnovnih celicah družbe, v družinah, v katerih si člani med seboj pogosto le stežka zaupajo ... Krizo vrednot je še dodatno poglobila ekonomska kriza, kar lahko pozoren opazovalec zasledi na vseh ravneh družbe. Starejša generacija ne zaupa v zmožnosti mladih, ki pa ne zmorejo prepoznati svojih potencialov, ker ne dobijo priložnosti, da bi jim tudi spodletelo.

    Maljše generacije so navajene živeti v varnem zavetju staršev, a brez zagotovila za socialno varnost v prihodnosti. Redki mladi so zapustili udobno zavetje in se podali na svoje, drugi pa so se prehitro vdali v usodo ali pa si ne upajo zahtevati, da bi priznali njihov enakovreden obstoj in možnosti ...

    Socialna nepravičnost je erozija človeških potencialov!