The Dreams (Video 3)
The Dreams, 2016
3 channel hd video (1920×1080)
Duration: 3’04”
“Dreams” is about the intersection of two different political utopias. In the old Soviet geography where collective living, progress, equality and space age utopias has been developed at the beginning of the last century and then went to wrack, today a different political utopia, a new utopia of identity prevails.
For most of the Eastern Europeans who want to get rid of the old Sovietic totalitarian images and create an “European” identity, being a part of European Union means being “Western” and “European” rather than being a part of the political union. It means acquiring an identity that contains all the genetic codes of an enlightenment which gives prominence to liberalism and individuality, and cares democracy, human rights, rule of law and even fine arts.
Especially the clashes between Russia and European Union to get the possession of Eastern Europe still continue by colliding the images in people’s memories. The winner of this image war will be determined by the ability of both parties to refer identities. It should be kept in mind that collective identity designates a political system or form as a prerequisite in order to maintain its continuity and legality. Individuals only approve the control of a government with which they can identify themselves, thus the notion of identity is closely related to the matter of legality. In this war scene, all cultural and psychological processes are put in motion and the images in memories are revealed. Both reestablishment of Red Army in Russia, and the Eurovision winning song from Ukraine prove that war is conducted at the level of images in memories.
The most powerful moment of human memory is the moment of dreams. It exists in a zone that is neither concrete nor abstract, and the dreamy expressions symbolize neither the “real” nor the “unreal”; symbolization lies in the zone of “improbability” which is between representation and unaccustomed expressions. In these three videos, “Dreams”, I tried to stay in this improbable point. I choose an unreal method to express this reality, because I’d like the audience to oscillate between finding it strange and finding it familiar.
As Baudrillard stated, “Europe is a bourgeois utopia of 19th century.” And the flag of European Union is the most expressive symbol of this utopia. It symbolizes wealth and plentitude for people, and in a poor land it is associated with welfare, freedom, liberalism and the future.
In the first video on the left, the flag of European Union parades in front of a building where a picture of Yuri Gagarin, a strong element of identity for Soviet people who symbolizes the hope for brand new future is hung. In the second video, the flag is seen on the Svobody Square in Kharkov, where one of the biggest Lenin statues of the world was demolished. And in the last video, a European Union flag falling down from a Soviet building on which there’s and advertisement of Euro 2012 European Football Championship, manifests the improbability of this political utopia. Kharkov and Donetsk has hosted some matches of this tournament, and ironically Kharkov is in a state of political unrest and Donetsk is in a state of war since 2013.