Past futures / 2016-2018
“Past futures” is an installation that follows the routes of 16 Slovenian immigrants after the dissolution of the European Union towards Munich, in a fictional age (the year 2028).
The work is developed alongside a research related to a fictional age, which I have crafted. It is the spring of the year 2028. Along with a fall of the European market, illegal immigration affected more and more territories of Western countries. The United States have just finished constructing a giant wall with Mexico, while its Pacific and Atlantic waters are fully covered by 34000 army posts - that hold automatic missile launchers. All of the European borders are failing. Germany recently launched project “Dome”, in which it developed protection-domes over all of the cities and towns of the country. Each city has developed a bar-code system, in which in every citizen is implanted a microchip and has a especially-designated bar-code, which assures his safety and full-knowledge over his position within the country. You can approach cities only upon microchip and bar-code approval. Once you have entered a new space, your particular code determines your position.
After the fall of the European Union (2024), Slovenia saw a period of financial difficulty. The Serbian Union became the main power in the Balkans, after the reunification of the territories that were once Yugoslavia – except Slovenia. Large protests forbid the unification with Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia. Slovenia sold its gold resources to Finland, and all of its oil to Austria. From an economic point of view, the country is in a coma. Nonetheless, a group of Slovenian immigrants from Celje have managed to infiltrate the Austrian borders.
From there on, they planned the final act: reaching Munich, where some relatives found jobs for them on the black market. These people have managed to replicate the microchips and the bar-codes. This is where our story begins.
I am interested in their moment of decision. Did they survive? If so, how? (Daniel Djamo, curator: Maja Hodoschek)
Untitled no. 118 / 2018; Nothing is safe / 2016; Enlightenment device / 2015; Untitled no. 218 / 2018;
randomly associated texts to each found object; 5 minute lines (between 2 - 9 minutes for each of the objects);
total time for 16 stories: 108 minutes (original self imposed deadline was supposed to be 61);
execution: from 16:01 until 17:49, February 13th, 2018;
purposely written on the computer with the original grammatical errors written in the notebook;
"Past futures" (February - April 2018), Likovni Salon Gallery - Celje Center for Contemporary Art, Celje, Slovenia, curator: Maja Hodošček