Krisztina ERDEI: Provisional Shelter
opening speech: Viola FARKAS, 3 September 2015  19:00
exhibition: 4 September - 24 September 2015 in the Liget Gallery






Everybody has felt that he/she would like to escape, at least for a short time. Independently from our timely situation, instead of solving the problems, we would pretend, they don't even exist at all. And we would occupy ourselves with an alternative reality. Wrong side of the solution, that it is only temporary. If we are faced with problems again, we would escape again. This is the uneffective  circle of 'escapism'. That the modern man moves away from social reality can be explained by many reasons. The point is that we need to divert our attention to ease the pressure of everyday life either by entertainment or by rest.

Drinking alcohol is the part of the culture in Hungary. Having a glance at consumption we are amongst the top players of the world. There is no doubt that in the bigger villages and market towns there were taverns and wine shops from the Middle Ages. These became institutionalized. Their periodic functioning became continuous. Religious holidays and traditions connected to these places, which became shelters for people during centuries.

The role of the pub is important today as well. One of the main targets of the tourist arriving to Hungary is the (ruin) pub. Pub is the institution of collective alcohol consumption, scene of complex social behaviours. It excludes the boredom of ordinary days or the troubles of civilization. This is the temporary home of public and loose exchange of views. 'The pub is a shelter. The only place where we can still hide from the world. The pub is the last recourse of human civilization.' (András CSERNA-SZABÓ)

At present the politics is aboute the escape. We have to give provisional shelter for the migrants who are coming mainly from war zones. We are a transit country where the peolple arrive but want to go forward. We are an inn where they rest a bit, exchange information but the destination is somewhere else.

The photoinstallation highlights the contrast between the timely humanitarian catastrophy in Europe and a centuries-old tradition.