We are introducing a new regular rubric that will allow artists to comment, in a variety of media, formats, and ways of expression, on certain crucial moments and developments in the contemporary political landscape worldwide as they are reflected locally. At present, the burning issue of the day is certainly migration. Commentary in the mass media tends to revolve around the “presence” of migrants in our region and upholding a certain state of “normalcy”; few, however, are capable of providing us with in-depth insight into the cause and course of migrations. Tomaž Mastnak writes that “the key problem is not that the refugees have covered the geographical distance between us… the key problem is that we are all victims of the same politics that has devastated the Middle East.” [1]

Karl Krauss wrote on the horror of World War I in 1914: “He/she who has something to say should step forward and be silent!” Being silent in this way is a critique of the unrelenting flood of words that say nothing. At the same time, silence is an opportunity for profound deliberation and for finding the right way to express what needs to be expressed, what needs to be talked about.

COMMENTARY 01 | Cause of Migrations, the drawing is a work by Djordje Balmazovića, Škart Collective (Belgrade, Srbia), 2015

Reference:

[1] Tomaž Mastnak: Kljuva nas strah, da vsi postajamo begunci, in Dnevnik Daily, 28 October 2015