DAMIJAN KRACINA

Napačna ladja / Wrong Ship

Napačna ladja?

Miha Colner

Razstava Napačna ladja umetnika Damijana Kracine pripoveduje fiktivno zgodbo o človeškem napredku in zmožnosti civilizacije, da preživi in se vedno znova vzpostavi na novo. Predstavlja subjektivni pogled v potencialne prihodnosti družbe in planeta, premišlja o hitrem napredku in zmožnosti človeške vrste po pokoritvi svoje okolice. Zato so interpretacije njegovega v prihodnost zazrtega celostnega dela povsem odprte, večznačne in nedoločene, pričujoča zgodba pa je zgolj ena izmed mnogih. V njej je vsaka podobnost z resničnostjo nedvomno naključna.

V zgodovini človeške vrste se je pogosto uveljavljalo prepričanje, da je bilo v preteklosti znatno boljše in da so nekoč obstajale elegantne rešitve, četudi morda dokaj primitivne in preproste, za vse probleme. Pa vendar je družba naposled nepreklicno prerasla to floskulo. Iz perspektive geološke zgodovine je bilo nekoč čisto zares mnogo boljše (pa tudi slabše, odvisno pač od obdobja). V času sodobnih in naprednih civilizacij je planet po dolgotrajnem izkopavanju, pridobivanju, plemenitenju in unovčevanju najrazličnejših virov postal skoraj neprimeren za življenje; za takšno življenje, kot so ga ljudje znali in hoteli živeti. Pa vendar je, glede na situacijo, planet zdržal dokaj dolgo.

Zgodovinarji so ugotovili, da so ljudje uspešno gospodarili planetu že tisoče let. Obremenjevanje okolja se je začelo že davno, v času prvih znanih civilizacij in skupnosti, ko so ljudje v želji po pridobivanju obdelovalne zemlje požigali gozdove in krčili rastje, da bi nahranili potrebo po materialni rasti in da bi pridobili zadosti potrebščin za vseskozi naraščajočo populacijo. Naposled se je število ljudi na planetu tako invazivno povečalo, da se je uveljavilo mnenje, da poti nazaj ni. Niti nekatere kataklizmične vojne, pogromi, lakote, poplave, potresi in epidemije niso uspele ugonobiti dovolj ljudi, da bi se vzpostavilo vzdržno ravnovesje. Vsi so še vedno nenehno hoteli več in še. In v družbi, kjer vsi želijo isto stvar – gmotni uspeh in slavo – se menda prav nič ne more spremeniti.

Ekonomska logika neskončnega napredka je vsako leto zahtevala nekaj procentov več vsega, ker je to bojda nujno za kakovostno in človeka dostojno življenje. Oblastniške strukture, povezane v nacionalne države in korporativne kraljevine, so potrebovale vse več ljudi, da so lahko hranile lastne interese. Dogme pač potrebujejo sledilce za opravičevanje svojega obstoja. Na drugi strani se je skozi zgodovino izoblikovala splošna kultura, ki je narekovala princip, po katerem je vsako stvar mogoče meriti le z monetarnimi sredstvi, medtem ko so ostale nestvarne in virtualne vrednote po dekretu prenehale obstajati. Antisocialno vedenje se je začelo tudi konkretno nadzirati; ljudje, ki niso dovolj cenili uspeha ter možnosti posedovati še in vse več, in tisti, ki niso obvladovali poslovnega vedenja, so obveljali za nevarne sociopate, ki so bili za njihovo lastno dobro in varnost celotne družbe bodisi v institucijah bodisi v domači oskrbi. Mnogi so se menda uspešno skrivali v družbi in hlinili normalnost.

V takšnem okolju je začelo zmanjkovati vsega. Najprej so prenehali kopati premog, nato črpati nafto, saj je družba prehajala v rabo čistejše energije. Nato se je ob pomanjkanju čistejših in obnovljivih virov in nadaljnjem povečevanju populacije ponovno začelo kopati premog in črpati nafto, da so lahko iz njiju kljub izgubam v procesu ustvarjali čisto energijo. Ko je zmanjkalo tudi tega, se je začelo za gorivo uporabljati kar koli, od umetelnih tvarin do biomas. Svet se je zaradi vseh intervencij segrel in malone izgorel. Temperature so naraščale, puščave so se razširile in vedno večje površine sveta so postale neprimerne za življenje, a se ljudje kljub vsem tem indicem niso mogli odreči svojim železnim navadam in razvadam. Ena razširjenih dogem je bila, da bo svet zaradi ljudskih aktivnosti nekoč do popolnosti uničen in da od življenja ne bo ostalo prav nič. A svet je še vedno trmasto obstajal.

Čeprav je zgodovina nakazovala, da so ogroženi predvsem ljudje, saj so imeli velike potrebe in veliko potrošnjo, medtem ko so mnoga druga živa bitja ob bolj skromni porabi virov zlahka preživela, se je dogma ohranjala skozi generacije. Kako tudi ne. Človeštvo je namreč v procesu svojega vladanja planetu uspelo uničiti mnoštvo živalskih in rastlinskih vrst, a ne prav vseh. Nekatere najbolj uspešne so preživele in se nemara pripravljale, da po dokončnem odhodu ljudi zavladajo svetu, vendar proces devastacije še ni bil končan. Nagon je bil preprosto premočan. Še je čas, da za ljudmi ne ostane nič. A čas se je iztekal, zato je bilo treba začeti verovati tudi v svetlo prihodnost.

Zavoljo nezadržnega propada in pomanjkanja dobrin, ki bi jih bilo moč potrošiti, so se veliki magi, menedžerska klasa, ki je bojda izkazovala genetsko superiornost na ravni nebrzdane proizvodnje in potrošnje, odločili, da bo človeštvo – ko bo napočil idealen čas za to – koordinirano zapustilo planet in poskusilo srečo drugje, na nekem morda večjem vesoljskem telesu, ki v svojih nedrih nemara skriva dovolj surovin za dolgotrajno razsipno življenje milijard (nekdanjih) Zemljanov.

Za takšen podvig je bila potrebna enormna flota, velika armada vesoljskih plovil, ki bodo omogočila veliko migracijo; če ne bo moč evakuirati vseh, bodo rešeni vsaj tisti najuspešnejši oziroma genetsko superiorni pri doseganju monetarnih uspehov. Javno še vedno neizrečena težava pa je bila usihajoča mentalna sposobnost ljudi, ki so večino miselnih aktivnosti porabili za razmišljanje o gmotnem uspehu in družbenem statusu. Oboje se je pridobilo zlasti s transakcijsko izmerljivimi dejavnostmi kopičenja materialnih dobrin, medtem ko so bile vse nerentabilne aktivnosti postavljene na stran.

Možgani so kot mišica – če niso v uporabi, zakrnijo in izginejo. To se je menda zgodilo človeški vrsti zavoljo popolne komodifikacije življenja; avtomatizacije najbolj preprostih miselnih procesov, krnitve spomina in odvisnosti od nenehnih čutnih impulzov. Ljudje so torej postali relativno neumni, neuki, kretenoidni in brez smisla za humor. To pa verjetno ni optimalen trenutek za odhod s planeta, saj brez ustreznega znanja ni smotrno popotovati po vsemirju. Pa vendar so veliki magi tako odločili in tisti, ki znajo delati dodano vrednost, se predvidoma ne motijo.

Prav zaradi tega so bile praktično vse priprave za lažje in udobnejše življenje ustvarjene v preteklosti, medtem ko so bile inovacije v skladu s stanjem stvari le redke, in še kadar so se pojavile, vprašljive. Bojda so se ustvarjale izključno za bodoče iskalce novega in boljšega sveta. Ti so – sicer že davno v preteklosti – začeli graditi plovila, ki naj bi omogočala bolj ali manj udobno preživetje v neskončnosti vesolja. Zato morajo biti opremljena z vsem, kar lahko potnikom omogoča preživetje, poleg osnovnih dobrin so to tudi priprave za krajšanje časa in obujanje spominov na tisto, kar so pustili za sabo.

Plovila za odhod s planeta so se že dolga leta oziroma celotne generacije pripravljala za svojo končno misijo. Postajala so na videz vse bolj kompleksna, opremljena z napredno tehnologijo in organskimi ostanki zemlje, vendar še vedno niso zapustila planeta. Ljudje oziroma bodoči turisti so po navodilih vodij kar tekmovali v zbiranju in prinašanju novih potrebščin na plovila, med katerimi so bila mnoga že večkrat povečana in razširjena, da bi lahko gostila vse potrebne stvari in ljudi. Kljub temu pa niso mogli vedeti, ali bodo vesoljska plovila sploh letela in ali bodo uspela prebiti zemeljsko opno. Veliki magi so zatrdili, da bodo, ko bo to zares potrebno, vendar tega že zelo dolgo ni nihče poskusil. Čas odhoda je tako dolga leta, pravzaprav generacije, ostajal v nedoločni prihodnosti.

Ena od premnogih tovrstnih ladij je v pripravi, kot so še vedno in že zelo dolgo mnoge parkirane praktično povsod po svetu. Kljub neznanemu terminu odhoda je plovilo opremljeno s stvarmi, ki bi jih utegnili potniki oziroma bodoči turisti potrebovati na poti. Tu so gore tehničnih pripomočkov in aparatur, za katere so vsi prepričani, da nemoteno delujejo, čeprav jih nihče ni nikdar zares preizkusil. Tu so tudi številni objekti, ki služijo zabavi, kratkočasenju, izobraževanju oziroma indoktrinaciji in ohranjanju spomina na herojsko, a primitivno preteklost. Mnogi pripomočki in objekti so tam že toliko časa, da nihče več zares ne ve, čemu so namenjeni, kako delujejo in kaj pomenijo.

Tu so veliki motorji, ki naj bi omogočali dotok vseh potrebnih snovi za preživetje ter motorji, ki bi ob dodajanju plina menda pognali plovilo v gibanje. Tu so naprave, ki naj bi v vsemirju omogočale pridelovanje hrane, ki je menda ne bo nikoli zmanjkalo, organsko-anorganska masa, ki se sama obnavlja. Tu so nekatere koristne živali in rastline, ki so že poprej zaradi nemogočih klimatskih razmer in spremenjenih življenjskih pogojev mutirale do te mere, da so predvidoma prilagojene za življenje v umetnih pogojih. Tu so tudi fosilni ostanki odmrlih živali in rastlin, ki s svojo pojavnostjo pričajo o nekdanjih principih življenja na Zemlji. Tu so tudi mogočni zemljevidi vsemirja in načrti drobovja plovila, ki bi lahko bili v pomoč pri morebitnih popravilih kompleksnih sistemov.

Tu so še nekatere starejše strukture, za katere ni več zgodovinskega spomina, čemu naj bi služile, ampak kljub temu delujejo kot integralni del celotnega organizma plovil; to so velika krila, premikajoče se brezoblične gmote in nekateri tehnološko obogateni organizmi, za katere nihče več ne ve, ali so plod domišljije ali dejanske ostaline preteklosti. Vsaka stvar na plovilu naj bi imela svojo funkcijo, saj se transakcijsko usmerjena družba že dolga leta izogiba neuporabnim stvarem, ki morda nosijo zgolj simbolno vrednost. Nedvomno so se ljudje že davno odrekli tudi umetnosti, saj je ta postala popolnoma neznosna v svoji nedoločnosti in ambivalentnosti.

Plovilo pa je – tako kot vsa ostala plovila širom sveta – še vedno parkirano in zasidrano na planetu, ki počasi, a vztrajno razpada in postaja vse bolj neznosen in neuporaben za njegove prebivalce, še zlasti ljudi. Odhod ves čas visi v zraku, a kot pravijo veliki magi, čas zanj še ni prišel. Še vedno obstajajo možnosti za proizvodnjo in trošenje nekaterih danosti, ki so še ostale na planetu. Menda je pred odhodom potrebno porabiti prav vse, kar je na razpolago, in šele ko ne bo ostalo prav ničesar za užiti in porabiti, bodo ljudje oziroma bodoči potniki in turisti dokončno naselili ladje in odrinili na popotovanje v neznano. Predvideva se, da v boljši svet, kjer ne bo nikoli ničesar zmanjkalo, kjer ne bo več potrebno delati za osnovne potrebščine, kjer ne bo več proizvodnje, ampak zgolj še potrošnja. Idealni svet za slehernega zdravega Zemljana. Popolna nirvana.

V pričakovanju tega velikega dne sta pomembna predvsem red in disciplina, kakor tudi brezpogojna vera v boljši svet bodočnosti; šele takrat bo mogoče pozabiti vse briljantne rešitve iz preteklosti. V tekmovalni družbi, kjer so ljudje naravna konkurenca drug drugemu, ni prostora za dvom. Za dvom v dejstvo, da človeštvo živi v idealni družbi, ki mora do dokončne popolnosti zgolj še zamenjati življenjsko okolje. Ni prostora za dvome, da je nenehen napredek morda že prišel do svojega konca. In ultimativno, ni prostora za misel, da je plovilo, ki se že dolga leta in generacije pripravlja na svoj dokončni in nepovratni odhod z opustošenega planeta, nemara povsem napačna ladja.

The Wrong Ship?
Miha Colner

The exhibition Wrong Ship, created by the artist Damijan Kracina, tells a fictional story about human progress and our ability to survive and reinvent civilisation over and over again. It presents a subjective view into the potential futures of society and the planet and reflects on the rapid progress and the ability of the human species to conquer our surroundings. That is why the interpretations of his integrated work focusing on the future are completely open, multifaceted, and undefined, and the present story is only one of many. However, any resemblance to reality is undoubtedly accidental.

Throughout the history, humans have often believed things were much better in the past and that once upon a time there were elegant, if perhaps rather primitive and simple, solutions to all problems. And yet society has finally outgrown this platitude. From the perspective of geological history, it really was much better in the past (as well as worse, depending on the period). During the period of modern and advanced civilisations, after long-term mining, extraction, refining and monetisation of a wide variety of resources, the planet has become almost unfit for life (for the kind of life that people knew and wanted to live). And yet, given the situation, the planet lasted quite a while.

Historians have established that humans have successfully managed the planet for thousands of years. The exploitation and burdening of the environment began a long time ago, in the time of the first known civilisations and communities, when people, in their desire to obtain arable land, burned forests and cut down plants to feed the need for material growth and to obtain sufficient supplies for an ever-growing population. Eventually, the number of people on the planet increased so drastically that the general consensus became that there was no going back. Not even cataclysmic wars, pogroms, famines, floods, earthquakes and epidemics have eradicated enough people to establish a sustainable balance. Everyone continued to constantly desire more and more. And in a society where everyone wants the same thing - material success and fame - apparently nothing can change.

The economic logic behind endless progress demanded a few percent more of everything every year, because this is absolutely necessary for a high-quality of life expected by humans. Power structures linked into nation-states and corporate kingdoms needed more and more people to feed their own interests. Dogmas need followers to justify their existence. On the other hand, a general culture was formed throughout history that dictated the principle according to which everything can be measured only by monetary means, while other immaterial and virtual values ceased to exist by decree. Antisocial behaviour also began to be controlled; people who did not appreciate success and the possibility of owning more and more, and those who did not master business behaviour, were considered dangerous sociopaths who, for their own good and the safety of society, were either placed into institutions or into home care. Reportedly, many still successfully hid in society and pretended to be normal.

In such an environment, everything began to run out. As society switched to using cleaner energy, it firstly stopped mining coal, then pumping oil. Then, due to the lack of clean and renewable resources and further increases in the population, coal mining and oil extraction began again, with the aim of creating clean energy, despite the losses in the process. When this ran out, anything from artificial substances to biomass began to be used as fuel. The world had become a hotter place and almost burned as a result of these interventions. Temperatures rose, deserts expanded, and ever-increasing areas of the world became uninhabitable, however, despite all these changes, people could not give up their habits and vices. One of the widespread dogmas was that the world will one day be completely destroyed by the human activities and that no life will be left on this planet. But the world continued to stubbornly exist.

Although history suggested that humans were primarily at risk because they had high needs and high consumption, while many other living beings survived easily with more modest consumption of resources, the dogma persisted through the generations. Of course it did. Humanity, in the process of ruling the planet, managed to destroy many animal and plant species, but not all of them. Some of the most successful survived and were perhaps preparing to rule the world after the final departure of humans, however the process of devastation was not yet complete. The instinct was simply too strong. There is still time for people to leave nothing behind. But time was running out, so it was necessary to start believing in a bright future.

For the sake of unstoppable decay and the lack of goods that could be consumed, the great magi, the managerial class, who must have demonstrated genetic superiority at the level of unbridled production and consumption, decided that humanity - when the ideal time finally arrives - would leave the planet in a coordinated manner and try its luck elsewhere, possibly on a large celestial body, which inadvertently hides sufficient raw materials in its bowels for the long-term wasteful life of billions of (former) earthlings.

Such an undertaking requires an enormous fleet, a vast armada of spacecraft that would enable the great migration; if it proves to be impossible to evacuate everyone, at least those who are most successful or genetically superior in achieving monetary success will be saved. A problem still unspoken in public, however, was the dwindling mental capacity of people who spent most of their mental activity thinking about material success and social status. Both were acquired mainly through the transactionally measurable activities of accumulation of material goods, while all unprofitable activities were set aside.
The brain is like a muscle - if it is not used, it shrivels and dies. This supposedly happened to the humans for the sake of the complete commodification of life; automatisation of the simplest thought processes, truncation of memory and dependence on constant sensory impulses. So, people became relatively stupid, ignorant, cretinoid and without any sense of humour. However, this is probably not the optimal moment to leave the planet, as it is not advisable to travel through space without appropriate knowledge. Regardless, the great magi decided to do this, and those who know how to create added value are usually not wrong.

It is for this reason that practically all preparations for an easier and more comfortable life were created in the past, while innovations according to the state of things were rare and even when they did appear, they were questionable. It is said that they have been created exclusively for future seekers of a new and better world. A long time ago they began to build vessels that were supposed to enable a more or less comfortable survival in the infinity of space. Therefore, they have to be equipped with everything that will enable travellers to survive - in addition to basic goods, they also need to include things to pass the time and relive the memories of what they left behind.

The vessels for leaving the planet have been preparing for their final mission for many years, one might even say for entire generations. They became seemingly more and more complex, equipped with advanced technology and organic remains of the earth, but they still remained on the planet. People or future tourists, following the instructions of the leaders, competed in collecting and bringing new necessities to the vessels, many of which had already been enlarged and expanded several times in order to host all the necessary things and people. Nevertheless, they could not know whether the spacecraft would fly at all and whether they would be able to penetrate the Earth's membrane. The great magi claimed that they would when it was truly necessary, but no one had attempted it for a very long time. The time of departure thus remained in the indefinite future for many years, indeed generations.

This is one of the many prepared ships of this type, which have been parked practically everywhere in the world for a very long time. Despite the unknown departure date, the vessel is equipped with things that passengers or future tourists might need on the way. There are mountains of technical gadgets and apparatuses that everyone is convinced work smoothly, even though no one (still) living has ever tested them. There are also many facilities that serve entertainment, passing the time, education or indoctrination and preserving the memory of the heroic but primitive past. Many gadgets and facilities have been there for so long that no one really knows what they are for, how they work and what they mean.

There are large engines, which are said to allow the flow of all necessary substances for survival, and engines which, when gas is added, would supposedly propel the vessel into motion. Here are the devices that are supposed to make it possible to grow food in space, which will supposedly never run out, a self-regenerating organic-inorganic mass. There are some useful animals and plants that have already mutated in the wake of impossible climatic conditions and changed living conditions to such an extent that they are presumably adapted to life in artificial environment. There are also fossil remains of dead animals and plants, which testify to the former principles of life on earth. There are also mighty maps of the universe and plans of the vessel's interior, which could be helpful if repairs to the complex systems were necessary.

There are also some older structures for which there is no longer any historical memory of what they were supposed to serve, but instead they function as an integral part of the entire organism of vessels; these are large wings, moving formless masses, and some technologically enhanced organisms that no one knows anymore whether they are figments of the imagination or actual remnants of the past. Everything on the vessel should have its own function, as the transaction-oriented society has - for many years - avoided useless things that may have only a symbolic value. Undoubtedly, people also gave up art a long time ago, as it became completely unbearable in its indeterminacy and ambivalence.

However, the vessel - like all other vessels around the world - is still parked and anchored on a planet that is slowly but steadily falling apart and becoming more and more unbearable and useless for its inhabitants, especially humans. The departure hangs in the air all the time, but as the great magi say, the time for it has not come yet. There are still opportunities to produce and consume some of the resources left on the planet. It is believed that it is necessary to consume everything that is available before the departure, and only when there is nothing left to use and consume, people, or future passengers and tourists, will finally populate the ships and set off on a journey into the unknown. It is assumed that to a better world, where nothing will ever run out, where it will no longer be necessary to work for basic necessities, where there will be no more production, but only consumption. An ideal world for every sane earthling. Absolute nirvana.
In anticipation of this great day, order and discipline are important above all, as well as unconditional faith in a better world to come; only then it will be possible to forget all the brilliant solutions of the past. In a competitive society where people are natural competitors with each other, there is no room for doubt. To doubt the fact that humanity lives in an ideal society, which only needs to change the living environment for the sake of final perfection. There is no room for doubt that the constant progress may already have come to an end. And ultimately, there is no room for thinking that the vessel, which has been preparing for its final and irreversible departure from the devastated planet for many years and generations, is the wrong ship.

Kolofon / Colophon

Izdala in založila / Published by:
Galerija Božidar Jakac

Zanjo / Represented by:
Goran Milovanović

Kustos razstave / Exhibition curator:
Miha Colner

Besedilo / Text:
Miha Colner

Postavitev razstave / Exhibition installation:
Miha Colner, Damijan Kracina

Tehnična izvedba / Technical support:
Mladen Baćić, Franci Gramc, Bruno Hočevar

Lektoriranje / Proof reading:
Meta Uhan

Angleški prevod / English translation:
Sunčan Stone

Fotografije / Photographs:
Jaka Babnik

Zahvale / Acknowledgements:
Katarina Toman Kracina

Kostanjevica na Krki
September 2023

Razstavo so omogočili / Supported by:
Krka d.d. / Ministrstvo za kulturo RS / Skupina GEN / Občina Kostanjevica na Krki / Konzorcij pridelovalcev cvička

Biografija

Damijan Kracina (1970) je sodobni umetnik, ki prvenstveno deluje na področju kiparstva, kljub temu pa je njegova ustvarjalna praksa izrazito interdisciplinarna. Leta 1996 je diplomiral je na oddelku za kiparstvo in leta 1999 zaključil podiplomski študij kiparstva in videa na Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje v Ljubljani. Aktivno deluje in razstavlja od leta 1992, ko je soustanovil umetniško skupino Provokart. V preteklih tridesetih letih je aktivno deloval na področju sodobne umetnosti, saj je obširno razstavljal svoja dela, ustvaril in izvedel pa je tudi več kiparskih del v javnem prostoru. Med leti 1997 in 2000 je bil umetniški vodja umetniškega centra Artilerie Kluže, leta 2005 pa je bil soustanovitelj umetniške skupine Društvo za domače raziskave. Od leta 2010 je zaposlen kot profesor na Srednji šoli za oblikovanje in fotografijo v Ljubljani, kjer tudi živi in deluje.

Biography

Damijan Kracina (1970) is a contemporary artist primarily active in the field of sculpture, yet his creative practice is distinctly interdisciplinary. He graduated in 1996 from the Sculpture Department and completed his postgraduate studies in sculpture and video at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana in 1999. He has been actively working and exhibiting since 1992 when he co-founded the art group Provokart. In the past thirty years he was actively worked in in the field of contemporary art, since he exhibited extensively as well as conceived and executed number of public sculptures. In the period 1997-2000, he was the artistic director of the art centre Artilerie Kluže, and in 2005, he co-founded the art group Domestic Research Society. Since 2010, he has been employed as a professor at the Secondary School of Design and Photography in Ljubljana, where he also lives and works.

www.kracina.com

Damijan Kracina
Wrong Ship / Napačna ladja
Video: Alan Vitezič

V MEDIJIH / IN THE MEDIA

Damijan Kracina: Napačna ladja
https://365.rtvslo.si/arhiv/kultura

DELO, Peter Rak, 16.11.2023
Ocenjujemo: Damijan Kracina: Napačna ladja

DAMIJAN KRACINA: NAPAČNA LADJA
@SODOBNAUMETNOSTCONTEMPORARYART

Razstava Damijana Kracine
Vaš Kanal, Regionalna televizija za Dolenjsko, Belo krajino in Posavje.

www.kracina.com