"Be There"

When I'm thinking to a place abandoned by its inhabitants I try to imagine how they were. The abandoned places always fascinated me. I cannot say what makes me feel this, but the connection between a place, the human being and living seems to me essential. In our culture it is said that "The man bless the place". It's a way to say that us, the human beings, have the power to impress a place with something of our ego, with our identity and capacity to give sense. I believe that even when we abandon a place, something from inside of us remains there no matter how empty would be that space.

By the means of installation, the project "Be There" creates an atmosphere simulating the presence of some characters. In seven small dark spaces there are seven white shirts fixed on the walls. On these are casted figures from the local community (Huesca, Spain), which were previously photographed in a particular manner. The persons were selected to correspond to the places of the installation, from a range of different reasons. Every character was photographed wearing a white shirt. Only the immediate human presence can stop the forgetting or the disappearance of a place. Be there.

Antiguo Seminario, Huesca, Spain, 2004. Installation in seven small rooms with: 7 shirts, 7 diaprojectors, and 7 slides. The project was realized within the framework of Okuparte Festival.

"Fairy Garment"

part of the "Wearing Photography Project"

Photographs 10 /15 cm, brought and painted by the children. Afterwards the photographs were put together to create a long coat destined to dress a phantastic character imagined by the children themselvs. The photos have already their "painting" and semantics, being a base with a double meaning, emotional and conceptual at the same time.

The children were of 7-10 years old. They participated to this workshop for two weeks.

Le lieux unique, Nantes, France, 2001. Mediums: photos, acrylic colours.

"Les Gilets"

"Les Gilets" is an instance of interaction between art and social environment, realized within the framework of the "Artists in Context" project supported by Pepiniere Europennes pour Jeunes Artistes. The project was carried out in the peripheric districts of Marseille (France), the social state of these being a critical one because of the need of jobs, the mixture of different cultures and immigration.

The participants were children of 4-13 years old. The project aimed to develop the imagination and the creativity of the children through a free communication, typical for the nondirective pedagogy. Without imposing a certain canon of expression, it was chosen the painting as the most frequent mean of visual communication for the children of these ages.

Marseille, 2003 Participants: approximately 60 children. Time: 6 months, Mediums: paper, watercolours etc.

Dan Piersinaru

Translation by Simona Nastac