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“The Words”
Suri Atilla,
Edin Alija, Video, 4’30’’, June
2016.
The desire to
learn words from the language of the
"Other" culture is conditioned by
the image and beliefs about the
culture and representatives of the
culture the language belongs to, not
just when you see or hear him. The
words we see on bilingual signs in
many cities, or hear, are triggers
of images that we carry on the
culture they indicate and emotions
which these images trigger in us.
Meeting with the words of a culture
which is invisible to us or
negatively stereotypically shown in
us do not trigger any, or trigger
uncomfortable feelings in us. The
process of memorizing words is
hampered by the negative images that
these words cause in us, and lack of
desire to learn and use in daily
life. The video shows how pleasant
emotions resulted in the encounter
with the "Other" encourage subjects
of this meeting to re-examine the
pictures they had and deconstruct
the direct meeting imposed images
and the actual subject. In the
context of the meeting of
representatives of two cultures in
which words become guardians of
moments of closeness and
understanding that are experienced
leads to remembering and using the
word, and picture of the language
changes through the image of the
"Other" and vice versa. The desire
for dialogue and connecting with
representatives of the culture of
the 'Other' boosts the desire to
remember and use words in everyday
life, which we are gradually being
introduced over time, and the other
layers of cultures that language
describes and presents.
The video “The
Words” is made by artists from
Serbia and Kosovo inspired by their
experiences of getting to know each
other and getting to know each
other's cultures and societies.
Video give an insight into the
process of unpacking stereotypical
images and performances in meeting
these young artists and their
construction of ideas on culture of
the "Other". Experiences they have
experienced in lectures and
workshops during the “Serbia and
Kosovo: Intercultural Icebreakers”
seminar, during visits to cultural
institutions, and during the process
of creating installations, enabled
artists to reconsider the images
they have of each other, and the
cultures from which they come from.
Installations and videos that have
arisen in these situations simulate
some of the processes in
post-conflict communities which lead
to stereotyping and the invisibility
of culture in a negative way, and
they provoke personal responsibility
of each of us in the
(de)construction of culture.
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