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SOMEONE MADE A CHOICE

Installation.dreess, fat, plastic & mix  materials.

40 x 40 x 60

Drawings.paper, pen, watercolour.30 x 40. 2016 – 2018

The installation consists in several sculpture-like sacks along with a series of drawings. While the sacks are a replica of a fat-covered plastic bag filled with self-survival belongings, which were used by migrants escaping Albania in the 1970s and 80s, the drawings represent another aspect of the coastline from which fugitives would run away. The installation recalls the beaches along the Adriatic Sea, which were the settings of both of people’s getaways and their summer holidays. From either perspective, this long stretch of land used to represent a springboard to a better future over the horizon at the time of the communist dictatorship. Back then, many Albanians attempted to escape their country in secret, by swimming, being more likely to drown or even be caught by the government beforehand. Regardless of whether they were successful or not in their risky venture, anyone from their family or who was linked to the deserters would be punished harshly. The price of human freedom was high to the the extent it would push lots of Albanians to set out on their long journeys. Alongside the sacks, the series of six drawings complete the other side of the same coin. Inspired by old archival photos, those natural settings are brought to life using watercolor painting and ink-pen, appearing as suspended snapshots and postcards of that time.