At Home
2015, digital prints on shaped boards, sound
The work was made for the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. It consisted of life sized, cut-out photographic self-portraits and audio works with sounds of street fights and wars.
When people ask us what we do in our lives, we usually answer with a description of our professional activities. We don't tell them that we spend most of our times sleeping, eating, washing ourselves, in a word keeping our organisms alive and bringing them to a socially acceptable state.
Usually, we spend this part of our lives at home. Even if we just sleep there, have a shower and rush off, it still adds up to almost half of our entire life. The horror of not having a space of one's own is there, not only because of the physical danger and the lack of comfort. It is terrifying primarily because of a complete loss of privacy. Right now, the fear of the loss of privacy seems to be spreading on many other levels as well.
On the other hand we also need a public space, just as much as we need the private one. As a society, ironically enough, we are at the same time worried about the loss of privacy and the loss of public space, a space that can be used by anyone and that is not there for someone's commercial gain. This is the space where we can get to know the world, have fun and stay in touch with people we don't agree with. We can also be political in public space. We can demonstrate and show our dissatisfaction there. The borders we established between the private and the public have a long cultural tradition. They differ slightly from culture to culture, but they are always there. However, if the borders start changing, or worse, disappearing, we feel a sense of crisis. If the outside world, uninvited, starts entering our home, we know we are in trouble.
The accompanying text by Jasmina Fučkan can be found here.
