Kitsch Escapism KS
Jona Kabashi from Prizren, is a sociologist particularly interested in exploring how economic systems influence and manifest into social processes. This interest and theme is also present in her artistic pursuits. In the context of Kosovo, she aims to reveal how its transitional society interacts with an unregulated market economy and how it affects different processes in society, culture and environment. For the INFRARED project she takes the current rural and urban landscape in Kosovo, identifying the predominant architectural style – which she best describes as kitsch — as the baseline to inform Kosovo’s society relationship with the environment. She claims that the emerging of this new architectural style, imitating “baroque” architecture designed to symbolize wealth and luxury, is our collective subconscious manifesting. A subconscious shaped by the trauma of war, introduction to market capitalism that pushed us towards materialism and in turn an alienation and disregard from and for the natural world. Through the mediums of photography and artificial alterations of photographs she aims to emit both the suffocation and alienation as well as the surrealism, bordering on fantastical and comical feelings she has experienced in relation to kitsch architectural landscape in Kosovo.
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The program of Rezidenca 17 is implemented in cooperation with Kryeqyteti Prishtina and AICS Tirana in the framework of “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans” (CC4WBs), a project funded by the European Union that aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.
Supported by: SMART Balkans, #SMARTBalkansProject #SupportedbyNorway #RegionalGrant #CPCDba #IDM #CRPM
European Union in Kosovo, Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo, #CC4WBs, #CCI #culture, #EU, #art, #creativeindustries, #creativity, #media, #genderequality#WesternBalkans
