SAVE OUR HOME
THE FIRST FLOATING PORTRAIT, THAT OF JOVAN MEMEDOVIC[1], BUILT
FROM PLASTIC BOTTLES DISPOSED OF IN RIVERS WAS CREATED ON WORLD RIVERS DAY
This piece called
“SAVE OUR HOME” and the whole “Cleaning” project aroused from the wish to raise
awareness about the importance of saving the environment as well as recycling
waste as the way to achieve the objective. The idea to take concrete steps came
as a result of this COVID summer, most of our people spent in Serbia, and of
what, as a result of their negligence, they left behind in nature when they
returned to their homes after vacation.
I spent a lot of time on the Sava, my favourite river, this summer and
watched in disbelief all the waste it carried. I started collecting it to
create a piece that would show, at least for a second, that the beauty of a
river is something worth cherishing. Just like human soul reflects in people’s eyes, nature
reflects in rivers.
The whole creation
was symbolically made on World Rivers Day, an official UN holiday, when various
activities such as riverbeds cleaning, habitats restoration, educational programmes
and ecology promotions take place.
The project being
finished, the bottles were taken out of the river and prepared for recycling.
“I found inspiration in one of Jovan’s “Just
Natural” shows where he canoed down the Drina river full of all sorts of waste
and whose banks have rapidly been turning into a dump. He called it ‘a real
ecological disaster’. A few months later, in the film “The Weight Of Chains 3”
by Boris Malagurski, Jovan explains how he converted local people there, how
they were embarrassed of what they had been doing and started cleaning the
river. One thing is certain, you can raise awareness, but in order to do that,
you need to let the culture and education in big time. I spent a lot of time on
the Sava, my favourite river, this summer and watched in disbelief all the
waste it carried. I started collecting it to create a piece that would show, at
least for a second, that the beauty of a river is something worth cherishing.
Just like human soul reflects in people’s eyes, nature reflects in rivers. We
must be responsible because we are not alone in this world, but a part of a
universal ecosystem. Although we are just passers-by on this planet, let’s not
be selfish since there is always someone we love that we leave behind. Let’s
leave the planet, if not more beautiful, then at least the same as we found it.
On this occasion I wanted to point the finger at very serious problems that we,
as a civilised society, should not have. It’s outrageous to promote recycling
while at the same time all the garbage is dumped on the same pile. At the
moment, people’s environmental awareness is at a very low level, and this work
was ment to show that recycled waste has its useful purpose. It’s similar with
wastewaters which are discharged into rivers directly instead of being
previously decontaminated. Finally, this work was there to send a message,
because… what is beauty for if not to spread wings?”
Andrej Josifovski Pijanista
architect and street artist
[1] “Jovan Memedovic is
definitely someone who takes care of all of us, no matter how people perceive
his mission to save the environment. His shows are educational and remind of
those we grew up with, the ones that, revealing the secrets of nature, taught
us about our needs and our health!”