Barbed State / SKATKA (with Mikk Madisson)
2016 / HD video, performance /
In 1980 Tallinnfilm released Bumpy, a story about Iti and Kusti who get lost in the forest and are subsequently abducted by a witch who uses the kids as slave labor. The matriarchal forest dwelling is portrayed as a destitute place where Kusti is put to work in the forest farm, while Iti has to look after the witch’s disobedient son, whom she calls Bumpy due to the horn-like bumps on his head. In the end the kids manage to escape, taking Nuki with them. Taking it’s inspiration from German and Slavic romantic fairytales, the demarcation lines between good and bad, lazy and industrious are clearly drawn in this story, as only the innocent children are able to cross the border between savage and cultivated land.
In the present day, Estonians have an unprecedented possibility to cross borders. Likewise, the new trans-boundary infrastructure enables local and foreign users to enjoy the digital amenities of Estonia no matter where they are. Yet the cognitive borders of being an Estonian are designated by the symbolic pollution that hovers in the psychosphere. The migratory crisis in Europe and societal marginalisation processes have created the grounds for a collective download of memories and experiences, where there is still a clear line between who is good and who is bad. So it is slowly becoming apparent that if in the digital space we are toasting drinks and everybody is welcome to join in as a potential user, then in the physical space it is better to keep away as we haven’t escaped the demarcation lines through locking horns.
Barbed State video-performance was part of the 2016 edition of Artishok biennale.
Performance photos by Paul Kuimet
