This photo was taken in mid-August during our walk around Mavrovo Lake in North Macedonia. I was drawn to the relation between the zipped up tent and the visible signs of habitation around. The tent’s occupant must have gone somewhere or was just having fun, but he left the sign, for just in case, sharing his skills – quite basic, but somehow kind and human ones.
There are moments when you just see something that‘s in its perfect combination; it is obviously in that state at that very moment because it is there to meet you. Several elements are combined in this shot, which are not present in the image but seem to have built it. They are a kind of a spirit or a ghost that hovers beyond the frame of the visible.
For me, the picture describes a very typical situation nowadays – social exclusion, neglect, being pushed to the “margins” of society. The text, written on a torn piece of cardboard, is displayed as an additional illuminated advertising sign, similar to those we see on the streets and on shop windows. Its role is to attract attention just like in the commercials. Powerfully asserted through the aestheticization of the message – the opposite of refusing visibility because of psychological or social reasons.
---
Installation views from "The Time is Now" exhibition (33rd and 34th session of the Art Residency Galichnik 2022/2023), National Gallery, Mala Stanica, Skopje. Curator Ana Frangovska
