When I booked myself in for my latest tattoo, my friend suggested that I contact one of her friends to interview him for The Balkanista. Whilst I am trying to keep my hands clean from Albanian politics (!), I am interested to speak to those that are passionate about righting the wrongs that they perceive within local politics and society. When I heard about Ergin Zaloshnja’s work and saw a few examples, I couldn’t not interview him, so we arranged to meet on a rainy weekday morning.
Starting at the beginning, Ergin tells me about his past- he decided to leave Albania after the collapse of communism and the disaster that followed the Ponzi schemes which crippled the country in 1997. Travelling to neighbouring Italy, he spent 14 years there and studied at the Academy of Fine art in Florence and Bologna.It was there that he became inspired to take his art down a political route.
Whilst in Italy he discovered many active anarchist and dissident movements and met with a lot of street artists that were creating politically and socially based artwork. These new ideas and ways of thinking resonated with him and he found that they began to influence not just his mindset but his work as well. Whilst street art was not originally his main focus as it is conceptual art that really motivates him, he discovered that he could split himself into two separate, artistic personas. The first of these is himself- Ergin Zaloshnja, the artist that makes conceptual art and installations. The second is Diver Santi the street artist who has a completely different style and approach.
Ergin the conceptual artist discovered his talent at a young age and his first exhibition was held in 2001 in Florence. He works with installations, photos, and objects and creates pieces centred around geopolitical situations in both Albania and abroad. He takes aim at the politics of the European Union and the unrealistic dream that he believes is being pedalled as a form of propaganda to anyone that will listen. He tells me that he believes it is not possible that every country in Europe can coexist as one when in actual fact they are all so unique in terms of economy, culture, history, and heritage. Using Italy as an example, he talks of racism he experienced as an Albanian there, and as such, he doesn’t believe that a European Union is something that can truly work when there is so many differences present between societies.
He started to make what he calls his “real art” after 9/11 as he could feel that something was starting to go very wrong. Wanting to use his artwork as a platform and a medium, to tell the truth, his work took a distinctly more political turn.
“If there is one thing I can do in this world, it is art that tells the truth, because this world is going to screw you up.”
When he returned to Albania in 2012, he wanted to do something to create change, as he could see that the new government was not delivering what they had promised. Calling them nothing more than “storytellers” he decided to voice his disapproval by creating a fanzine.
Joining forces with a couple of friends (Pleurad Xhafa. Sokol Peçi and Elian Stefa). they decided to set up Sputnik. Not a comic as such, Sputnik is the front cover of an imaginary magazine- each cover depicting a social issue or situation that are inspired by real happenings in Albania. Using black humour and dystopian imagery, they created a tongue in cheek visual scenario that is designed to provoke thought and discussion. These images are then posted in various high-visibility locations around the city, with a new “edition” coming out periodically. Their aim is to highlight corruption and social issues and most importantly to bring it to the people and the man on the street. The idea is also to see how “free” Albania is and whether they are able to publish such things, without any repercussions.
He shows me one of his conceptual pieces- a video showing a hangman’s noose dangling over Skanderberg Square as the unsuspecting citizens walk below. Entitled “Naming the Halter in the Hanged Man’s House” it is a disturbing yet resonating piece, and Ergin grins mischievously at me as he watches my reaction.
“Weed Nation” is another piece by him (but this time under the moniker of Diver Santi) a large pasted image that appeared on the streets of Tirana last month. Featuring construction workers erecting a large cannabis plant it seeks to provoke thought regarding Albania’s most lucrative export, and the unstoppable march of gentrification and overdevelopment.
His pieces are designed to shock and create controversy and I am sure that the suggestions and implications he makes in his art are as divisive as the political scene he pokes fun at. But this is what makes the world go round- having such outbursts of politically and socially charged art is an important part of a functioning democracy and both Ergin, and Diver make extremely valid points in the pieces that are created. Next time you take a walk around Tirana, be sure to keep your eyes and your mind open.
Follow The Balkanista!
