“There’s no land, but the land.” – Patti Smith
Ultimate Currency can be understood as a sign of the paradoxical moment in history when technology is becoming increasingly more sophisticated, but never enough to successfully resolve rudimentary human issues, which remain as timeless as the land itself.
Regardless of the subtle dematerialisation of the contemporary world, control over land (ground, territory), its economic potential and strategic importance remains a constant feature of both war and peace. Along with food production and the growing environmental danger accompanying it, geopolitical changes and global migrations caused by war keep reminding us that every human being is fundamentally dependent on the land. The reasons for mass climate migrations are relatively small alterations in temperature that are interrupting agricultural cycles. The economic pattern of making substantial investments in large areas of arable land implies that land is something of lasting value, like gold, the possession of which means real, but also symbolic political power, especially in the light of contemporary climate issues. Conversely, desertion and fleeing one’s own land due to war are some of the never-changing patterns of human experience.
The photographs are conceived as nonspecific and universal and could have been taken almost anywhere. The land – fields, pastures, and meadows are neutrally represented, positioning the scope of meaning between traditionally beautiful landscapes and functional-documentary photographs. The photographic representations appear general and calm, but they are also in stark contrast with the title of the exhibition, which suggests the idea of thinking about the land–territory as an economic, but also political currency. This kind of correlation seems particularly understandable in the local Serbian context, where political life still entirely depends on the consequences of recent wars, while migrations and the changing of the borders are everyday topics. [MV]
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“There’s no land, but the land” – Patti Smith
Ultimativna valuta može se razumeti kao znak paradaksalnosti istorijskog trenutka u okviru koga sofisticiranost tehnologije neprestano raste, ali nikada dovoljno za uspešno rešavanje rudimentarnih ljudskih problema koji ostaju bezvremeni kao i sama zemlja.
Bez obzira na suptilnu dematerijalizaciju savremenog sveta, kontrola zemlje (zemljišta, teritorije), njenog privrednog potencijala i strateškog značaja, ostaje jedna od konstanti rata i mira. Pored elementarne proizvodnje hrane i rastuće ekološke opasnosti koja je prati, ratovima izazvane geopolitičke promene i globalne migracije iznova podsećaju na bazičnu zavisnost svakog čoveka od zemlje. Razlozi za masovne klimatske migracije svode se na relativno male promene temperature koje prekidaju poljoprivredne cikluse. Ekonomski obrazac značajnih investicija u velike površine obradive zemlje podrazumeva shvatanje zemljišta kao konstantne vrednosti poput zlata, čije posedovanje znači realnu ali i simboličku političku moć, naročito u svetlu savremenih klimatskih promena. S druge strane, ratom izazvano napuštanje i bežanje sa sopstvene zemlje spada u red nepromenljivih obrazaca ljudskog iskustva.
Iako fotografije de fakto predstavljaju Srbiju, koncipirane su kao ne-specifične i univerzalne i mogle su nastati u gotovo bilo kom delu sveta. Zemljište – njive, poljane i livade predstavljene su takozvanim neutralnim pogledom kojim je polje značenja pozicionirano između tradicionalno lepih pejzaža i funkcionalo-dokumentarnih fotografija. Opštost i smirenost fotografskih predstava stoji u oštrom kontrastu sa naslovom izložbe koji sugeriše koncepciju promišljanja zemljišta-teritorije kao ekonomske, ali i političke valute. Ovakav spoj čini se posebno razumljivim u lokalnim okolnostima u kojima je politički život i dalje u potpunosti zavistan od posledica skorašnjih ratova dok su promena granica i inostrane migracije svakodnevne teme. [MV]