data: 31 decembrie 2011
foto: Vladimir Us

data: 31 decembrie 2011
foto: Vladimir Us

Fluturașe albe / Blank Flyers, performance by Michal Holy, Chisinau 2011

detalii despre programul de rezidență / details about the residency program: http://arthotel.oberliht.com/2011/11/26/michal-holy/

(Im)Possibility: Trash-free Chisinau?

In the dirt lies an open beer bottle with a rest of liquid inside. Next to it there are some plastic bags and a bunch of plastic bottles that have probably seen the sun, the rain and the snow several times. Cigarette packs, plastic and paper pieces peek through leaves and dry patches of grass. Ugly and disgusting I spot a bone of an unknown animal and an abandoned teddy bear which likely hasn’t been soft and comforting since it found its way here. Incredulously, there are also parts of a vacuum cleaner and TV among all the things I see when I leave my apartment close to famous Albisoara street. All the trash.

Sitting in the bus on my way to work I notice two girls outside in Telecentru: one of them is crumbling a paper bag and carelessly, but in the end unsuccessfully, tries to throw it over a wall in order to get rid of it. Laughing they continue walking, leaving the paper bag behind on the ground.

In Chisinau the centre is pleasantly clean; the parks can be enjoyed for their nature without disturbing, out-of-place spots on lush grass and in between green trees. In autumn you can see hired women and men sweeping yellow leaves together and afterwards putting them in huge bags. The centre is covered with rubbish bins; in the two central parks almost every bench has its own. All is neat and clean. Obviously, the city’s administration believes it’s important to put effort there. Once you leave the reassuring sights of the centre, though, you find yourself in a very different reality. If you enter living areas, soon you will come across trash at random places in abundance. Sometimes there is garbage lying around, although the waste containers are only 50 meters away.

Apart from disliking the view, it also makes me wonder why. In comparison to those two girls, I don’t find it difficult to keep my rubbish until the next bin. Do people think that once the trash leaves their hands, it’s off their responsibility? Maybe they haven’t realized yet, that this trash is not going to disappear; unlike an apple which is reusable by nature, plastic/glass will stay no matter what. Also, living in an area that is surrounded by it loses all its potential beauty and anyways, wouldn’t it be nicer to enjoy the view instead of hurrying past it?

In the end it is a matter of awareness. If you aren’t aware of a problem, you will hardly be able to solve it.

So now: why not try to make this city a little more trash-free?

Text and photos by Rosanna Wedel
December 2012

bd. Stefan cel Mare si Sfint, 2011
video: 15’10’’

bd. Stefan cel Mare si Sfint, 2011

In my work I am interested in the forces and in the processes that shape public space in the former socialist countries and in Moldova particularly. Stefan cel Mare si Sfint Boulevard, which stands today for the main boulevard in Chisinau, is a research project through which I would like to reveal the names that this particular street had in the past, thus unveiling the past and present mechanisms that stay behind the process of writing the history. The name of Stefan cel Mare si Sfînt was attributed to this street in 1990, when Republic of Moldova became an independent state after the fall of the Soviet Union. In the process of research I found out that this particular street has changed its name at least seven times, changes that were operated under different regimes in the past.

By installing on the façade of the Chisinau city hall the historical names next to the current name of the street I express my concern for the fact that new historical narratives are built upon the old ones, while the latter are being erased as if they represented a treat for the previous ones, thus bringing to an end a possible public discussion about various issues related to our past.

Vladimir Us

Chișinău între focuri / Chisinau on fire, 2012
foto: Vladimir Us

Us Vladimir
Președintele și Muzeul / The President and the Museum (disco-loop)
animație gif, 2011

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Publicitatea în Chișinău

Nu există o lege care ar permite amplasarea anunțurilor pe străzile Chișinăului. Copaci, stații ale transportului public sunt acoperite cu anunțuri făcute acasă și apoi multiplicate. Când este întrebat despre numărul uimitor al acestora, primarul orașului nu simte necesitatea de interzicere a lor, pentru că oamenii au nevoie de spațiu pentru a-și reclama bunurile.  Stațiile de trasport public nu au careva anunțuri oficiale, pentru că ele sunt spații pentru copiile xeroxate.  Probabil , de asta panourile publicitare sunt înălțate atât de mult, ca nimeni să nu le poată ajungă. Totuși, există o lege nescrisă, care interzice publicarea anunțurilor pe suprafețele proprietăților private. Deși, poți, fără frică, să-ți amplasezi anunțurile, în timpul zilei, în locurile unde, deja, ele există. Panourile publicitare nu reclamează lucruri globalizate; mai mult de propagandă: arătând Chișinăul, artiști moldoveni sau chestii de uz casnic. Publicitatea profesionistă lipsește. De obicei, aceste panouri sunt niște pagini galbene ale produselor.  Multe din ele sunt albe, așteptând să fie arendate. Des, o reclamă rămâne afișată mult timp, după ce evenimentul a avut loc.  Aceste condiții reflectă întreaga scenă pe piața publicitară, care, des, are loc direct în stradă, împărțind pliante, oferind transport, vânzând produse de mâna a doua. În general, poți găsi mai multe lucruri în stradă decât în magazine.

EN
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Adverts in Chisinau

There isn’t really a law for posting posters on the streets of Chisinau. Trees, bus stops are covered with homemade photocopies. When asked about the staggering amount of posters, the mayor of the city feels no need to prohibit them, as people need space to advertise their goods. Bus stops don’t have official advertisements posted, because they’re a place for xeroxed copies. Probably that’s why billboards are raised so high in the city, so that no-one reach that area. There is, however, an unwritten law to not post on private properties. Have no fear to post your own during the day in the places where you already find them, though.
Official billboards don’t advertise many globalised things; they’re more propaganda-styled, showing Chisinau, Moldavian singers or domestic stuff. Professional regular advertising is missing. Billboards are more like yellow pages for products. Many billboards are plain white waiting for customers to pay. Often an advertisement of a commercial event stays long after the event has happened. These conditions reflect on the whole market scene which often takes place right on the street by giving flyers, offering transport, selling second-hand items. Overall there is more stuff right on the street than in shops.

detalii despre programul de rezidență / details about the residency program: http://arthotel.oberliht.com/2011/11/26/michal-holy/

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Piedestaluri

Percep piedestalurile ca ceva ce afectează pietonii și crează o imagine a orașului. Pentru mine multe din ele par a fi niște decorații. De asemenea, am găsit conexiuni cu piedestalurile pentru statuile istorice.

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Pedestals

I take the pedestals as something that impact walkers and create a city image. Many of them look like decorations to me. I also found connections with historical pedestals for statues.

detalii despre programul de rezidență / details about the residency program: http://arthotel.oberliht.com/2011/11/26/michal-holy/

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Blocuri cu apartamente

Sunt un fan al blocurilor sovietice cu apartamente și am văzut câteva, impunătoare, în Chișinău. Noi nu avem clădiri atât de înalte și structurate, din acea perioadă, în orașul nostru, așadar, acestea sunt “regimul sovietic adevărat” pentru mine. Multe din ele nu au fost renovate de când au fost construite, prin urmare, oferindu-le un sentiment nostalgic puternic. Materialul și fațadele sunt, oarecum, decorative pentru mine, împreună cu alte obiecte din oraș, la fel ca căile ferate, proprietarii de ghișee cu flori din stradă. Balcoanele sunt rotunjite și diferite într-o clădire. Blocurile mai mici sunt ornamentate la parte de sus și, de asemenea, au balcoane de diferite forme. Cele mai bune raioane sunt Botanica, Râșcani, Ciocana, Buiucani, dar ele pot fi găsite în tot orașul.

EN
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Blocks of flats

I am a fan of soviet blocks of flats and I saw some large ones in Chisinau. We don’t have such high and structured buildings from this era in our country, so these ones are “real soviet” for me. Most of them were not renovated since they had been built, therefore giving them a strong nostalgic feeling. Material and outlook are somehow decorative for me, together with other objects in the city like steel rails, the flower box holders standing on the streets. The balconies are round and divided in many ways on one building. Smaller blocks have an ornament on the top and also balconies are shaped in various geometrical forms. Best districts are Botanica, Rîșcani, Ciocana, Buiucani, but they can be found in the whole city.

detalii despre programul de rezidență / details about the residency program: http://arthotel.oberliht.com/2011/11/26/michal-holy/