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¬ Efectele acestei izolæri asupra celor implicafli direct în procesul de adaptare de
care vorbeai le surprinzi în cealaltæ lucrare dedicatæ subiectului despre care vorbim,
105/7.
√ Da, iniflial plænuiam ca Shoes for Europe sæ arate un pic altfel. Aø fi dorit sæ îl proiectez
pe douæ ecrane, un ecran care sæ arate situaflia din afaræ, cu tot procesul acesta
de adaptare a ecartamentului, øi un ecran care sæ arate situaflia din interiorul trenului,
împreunæ cu relafliile dintre oamenii care trec frontiera. Era o situaflie destul de ambiguæ
øi tristæ, pentru cæ lumea nu este dispusæ sæ se lase filmatæ, trebuia vorbit cu fiecare
în parte, fiecare cu grijile sale, fiecare încercînd sæ ducæ ceva peste graniflæ. Pînæ la
urmæ au ieøit douæ lucræri separate, fiecare cu parcursul sæu. Shoes for Europe a avut,
fireøte, mai mult succes.
¬ Odatæ cu Shoes for Europe observ o schimbare în estetica lucrærilor tale. Deøi
dureazæ mai mult, acorzi o foarte mare atenflie detaliului, filmînd din diferite perspective
aceeaøi situaflie, folosind mai multe camere video, încercînd sæ reduci la minimum
prezenfla ta.
√ Dacæ ar fi sæ vorbim numai despre Shoes for Europe, am fost cumva constrîns
sæ lucrez aøa, pentru cæ am avut la dispoziflie numai o noapte øi, dupæ cum øtii, trenul
nu poate fi flinut în loc. Cadrul nu poate fi repetat, aøa cæ de la bun început am decis
sæ lucrez cu douæ camere. Apoi a fost vorba de problemele inerente unui astfel de
demers, cred cæ îfli închipui cæ nu e chiar uøor sæ filmezi într-un punct de trecere a
graniflei, care mai e pe deasupra un fost punct cu importanflæ strategicæ øi militaræ
al imperiului sovietic. Am pregætit cu mult timp înainte aceastæ lucrare, iar în plus
avantajul accesului la echipament øi oameni, avantaj pe care nu l-am avut mai înainte,
mi-a permis sæ lucrez cu dubluri, de exemplu. Am format øi coordonat o echipæ,
cu care am colaborat øi mai departe. Inclusiv pentru Barons’ Hill, pe care l-am prezentat
anul acesta la Neue Nationalgalerie.
¬ Pînæ la Barons’ Hill, aø fi dorit sæ îmi vorbeøti despre alte douæ proiecte ale tale
al cæror subiect se leagæ de ceea ce am discutat pînæ acum. Primul din ele este un
performance cu public, intitulat Welcome to E.U., în care imprimi cercul cu 12 stele
al U.E. pe prima copertæ a paøaportului moldovenesc al participanflilor la acfliune. O
lucrare cu conflinut subversiv, dat fiind faptul cæ paøaportul, ca øi cartea de identitate,
este proprietatea statului emitent, iar titularul este obligat sæ nu aducæ adæugiri sau
sæ facæ modificæri acestuia. Paøapoartele cu care ai lucrat erau reale, iar participanflii
la proiectul tæu øi-au asumat consecinflele care puteau sæ urmeze de aici. De aceea
eram curios sæ te întreb dacæ a existat vreo reacflie a autoritæflilor sau, mai bine spus,
dacæ cei ce øi-au læsat paøapoartele modificate au avut vreo problemæ la frontieræ.
√ Øtii, mi s-a reproøat uneori cæ speculez situaflia politico-socialæ a Moldovei. Æsta
e poate un exemplu cæ îmi iau lucrærile în serios. Ei bine, deøi se credea cæ performance-ul
acesta va fi cu paøapoarte false, el a fost cît se poate de real. Inclusiv propriul
meu paøaport a fost astfel modificat. Øi, în mod ciudat... nu am avut niciun fel
de problemæ. Situaflia e destul de amuzantæ, pentru cæ eu am cælætorit cu paøaportul
acesta pînæ în Statele Unite øi nimeni nu a avut nimic de obiectat. O singuræ datæ
a fost o problemæ, cu cineva care a vrut sæ meargæ în Ucraina. Problema a fost însæ
nu la vama noastræ, ci la cea ucraineanæ.
¬ Al doilea proiect care mæ intereseazæ este lucrarea video Homesick Cuisine. Proiectul
pledeazæ pentru integrarea culturalæ a diferitelor spaflii geografice ale Europei,
argumentînd cu un gest foarte simplu: o plasæ de rafie depusæ într-un autocar transportæ
sarmale, plæcinte øi vin pregætite de familia ta la Chiøinæu, care vor fi servite cu
ocazia vernisajului expozifliei tale din Berlin. Cu alte cuvinte, integrarea culturalæ
poate fi performatæ prin gesturi mici, pe care o asemenea artæ, cum e gastronomia,
le poate permite.
a different structure, too. It’s about isolation, which is not only imaginary,
but also practical.
¬ The consequences of this isolation on those directly involved
in the adaptation process you were talking about are approached in
your other work on the subject we are talking about, 105/7.
√ It’s true, I initially planned Shoes for Europe to look a little bit
different. I would have liked to project it on two screens, one showing
the situation outside, with this entire process of adapting the
gauge and a screen showing the situation inside the train, altogether
with the relations between the people crossing the border. It was a
pretty ambiguous and sad situation, because people are not willing
to let themselves filmed, each of them had to be talked to separately,
each has his worries, each of them trying to get something over
the border. In the end, two separate works came out, each on its own.
Shoes for Europe was, of course, more successful.
¬ With Shoes for Europe, I detect a shift in your works’ aesthetics.
Although it takes longer, you pay a great deal of attention to the
details, filming the same situation from different perspectives, using
more video cameras, trying as much as possible to minimize your
presence.
√ If we were to talk about Shoes for Europe alone, I was forced,
in a way, to work like this because I only had one night at my disposal
and, as you know, the train cannot be held back. The frame cannot
be repeated, so from the very beginning I decided to work with
two cameras. Then it was about the inherent problems of such an
enterprise, I guess you can imagine it’s not quite easy to film at a
border crossing point, which is also a former point of a strategically
and military importance for the Soviet Empire. I prepared this work
long before and, besides, the advantage of having access to
equipment and people, which I didn’t have before, allowed me to
work with doubles, for example. I formed and coordinated a team,
which I continued to collaborate with. Inclusively for Barons’ Hill,
which I’ve presented this year at Neue Nationalgalerie.
¬ Before reaching to Barons’ Hill I would have liked you to talk
about other two of your projects, whose subject relates to what
we’ve been discussing so far. First of them is a performance with
public, entitled Welcome to E.U., in which you print E.U.’s 12 stars circle
on the passports front cover of the Republic of Moldova of those
participating at the action. A work with a subversive content, due
to the fact that the passport, like the identity card, is the property of
the state which issues it and the titular is forbidden to add or modify
something to it. The passports you’ve worked on were real and the
participants to your project took upon themselves the consequences
which could have followed. That’s why I was curious if there was
any reaction from the authorities or, more precisely, if those who let
their passport be modified had any problems at the border?
√ You know, sometimes I’m reproached that I speculate Moldova’s
political-social situation. This may be an example of the fact that
I take things seriously. Well, although this performance was thought
to make use of false passports, it was as real as it could be. My own
passport was modified this way. And, strangely... I haven’t had any
kind of problem. It’s a pretty funny situation, because I travelled to
the United States with this passport and nobody had any objections.
On time there was a problem, with someone wanting to go to
Ukraine. But the problem was not at our customs, but at Ukraine’s.
¬ The second project I’m interested in is the video work Homesick
Cuisine. The project pleads for the cultural integration of Europe’s
different geographical spaces, making use of a simple gesture: a raffia
bag placed in a bus transports meat rolls, pies and wine prepared
by your family at Kishinev, which will be served on the occasion of
your Berlin exhibition’s opening. In other words, the cultural integration
may be performed through small gestures which an art such
gastronomy allows.
√ It was precisely the point of my work. It came out as a result
of an invitation to attend an exhibition called To Do Things in the
Middle of Nowhere. From the very beginning, this title looked suspi-
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