A project of peace, painted across 50 buildings | eL Seed

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

So when I decided to create an art piece in Manshiyat Naser,

Kada sam odlučio da stvorim umetničko delo u Manšijat Naseru,

the neighborhood of the Cairo garbage collectors in Egypt,

susedstvu sakupljača kairskog đubreta u Egiptu,

I never thought this project would be

nisam ni pomislio da će ovaj projekat biti

the most amazing human experience that I would ever live.

najneverovatnije ljudsko iskustvo koje ću ikada proživeti.

As an artist, I had this humanist intention

Kao umetnik, imao sam humanističku nameru

of beautifying a poor and neglected neighborhood

da ulepšam siromašan i zanemaren kraj

by bringing art to it and hopefully shining light on this isolated community.

unoseći umetnost u njega i nadajući se da ću obasjati ovu izolovanu zajednicu.

The first time I heard about this Christian Coptic community

Prvi put sam čuo za ovu hrišćansku koptsku zajednicu

was in 2009 when the Egyptian authorities under the regime of Hosni Mubarak

2009. godine, kada je egipatska vlast pod režimom Hosnija Mubaraka

decided to slaughter 300,000 pigs using the pretext of H1N1 virus.

odlučila da zakolje 300 000 svinja koristeći kao izgovor virus H1N1.

Originally, they are pig breeders.

Izvorno, oni su uzgajivači svinja.

Their pigs and other animals are fed with the organic waste

Njihove svinje i druge životinje se hrane organskim otpadom

that they collect on a daily basis.

koji oni svakodnevno sakupljaju.

This event killed their livelihood.

Ovaj događaj je uništio njihova sredstva za preživljavanje.

The first time I entered Manshiyat Naser, it felt like a maze.

Prvi put kada sam ušao u Manšijat Naser, činio se kao lavirint.

I was looking for the St. Simon Monastery on the top of the Muqattam Mountain.

Tražio sam manastir Svetog Simona na vrhu planine Mokatam.

So you go right, then straight, then right again, then left

Idete desno, onda pravo, pa opet desno, zatim levo

to reach all the way to the top.

da biste stigli skroz na vrh.

Međutim, da biste tamo stigli,

But to reach there, you must dodge between the trucks overpacked with garbage

morate da se provučete između kamiona pretrpanih đubretom

and slalom between the tuk-tuks,

i spustite se između motornih rikša,

the fastest vehicle to move around in the neighborhood.

vozila kojima se najbrže kreće kroz komšiluk.

The smell of the garbage unloaded from those trucks was intense,

Miris istovarenog đubreta iz tih kamiona bio je jak,

and the noise of the traffic was loud and overbearing.

a buka saobraćaja bila je glasna i nepodnošljiva.

Add to it the din created by the crushers in those warehouses along the way.

Dodajte tome i galamu koju su stvarale drobilice u tim skladištima usput.

From outside it looks chaotic, but everything is perfectly organized.

Spolja izgleda haotično, ali sve je savršeno organizovano.

The Zaraeeb, that’s how they call themselves,

Zaraibi, kako nazivaju sami sebe,

which means the pig breeders,

što znači uzgajivači svinja,

have been collecting the garbage of Cairo

sakupljali su otpad iz Kaira

and sorting it in their own neighborhood for decades.

i decenijama ga razvrstavali u svom kraju.

They have developed one of the most efficient

Razvili su jedan od najefikasnijih

and highly profitable systems on a global level.

i visoko profitabilnih sistema na globalnom nivou.

Still, the place is perceived as dirty, marginalized and segregated

Ovo mesto još vide kao prljavo, marginalizovano i izdvojeno

because of their association with the trash.

zbog veze sa đubretom.

So my initial idea was to create an anamorphic piece,

Moja prvobitna ideja je bila da stvorim anamorfno delo,

a piece that you can only see from one vantage point.

delo koje možete videti samo sa jedne povoljne tačke.

I wanted to challenge myself artistically by painting over several buildings

Hteo sam da postavim sebi umetnički izazov tako što ću oslikati nekoliko građevina

and having it only fully visible from one point on the Muqattam Mountain.

i tako što će to biti potpuno vidljivo sa jedne tačke na planini Mokatam.

The Muqattam Mountain is the pride of the community.

Planina Mokatam je ponos zajednice.

This is where they built the St. Simon Monastery,

Ovde su izgradili manastir Svetog Simona,

a 10,000-seat cave church that they carved into the mountain itself.

crkvu-pećinu sa 10 000 sedišta koju su uklesali u samu planinu.

So, the first time I stood on top of the mountain

Tako, prvi put kada sam stajao na vrhu planine i posmatrao kraj,

and I looked at the neighborhood,

I asked myself, how on earth will I convince all those owners

zapitao sam se kako ću, pobogu, ubediti sve te vlasnike

to let me paint on their buildings?

da mi dozvole da slikam na njihovim objektima.

And then Magd came.

Zatim je došao Megd.

Magd is a guide from the Church.

Megd je vodič iz crkve.

He told me the only person I needed to convince was Father Samaan,

Rekao mi je da je jedina osoba koju moram da ubedim otac Saman,

who is the leader of the community.

koji je vođa zajednice.

But to convince Father Samaan, I needed to convince Mario,

Međutim, da bih ubedio oca Samana, morao sam da ubedim Marija,

who is a Polish artist who moved to Cairo 20 years ago

koji je poljski umetnik koji se doselio u Kairo pre 20 godina

and who created all the artwork of the Cave Church.

i koji je stvorio sva umetnička dela crkve-pećine.

I am really grateful to Mario. He was the key of the project.

Veoma sam zahvalan Mariju. Bio je ključ projekta.

He managed to get me a meeting with Father Samaan,

Uspeo je da mi sredi sastanak sa ocem Samanom i,

and surprisingly, he loved the idea.

iznenađujuće, dopala mu se ideja.

He asked me about where I painted before

Pitao me je gde sam pre slikao

and how I will make it happen.

i kako ću to ostvariti.

And he was mainly concerned by what I was going to write.

Uglavnom ga je brinulo šta ću napisati.

In every work that I create, I write messages

U svakom delu koje stvorim, pišem poruke

with my style of Arabic calligraphy.

svojim stilom arapske kaligrafije.

I make sure those messages are relevant to the place where I am painting

Staram se o tome da su te poruke od značaja za mesto na kome slikam

but have this universal dimension,

ali imaju univerzalnu dimenziju,

so anybody around the world can relate to it.

tako da se svako širom sveta može dovesti u vezu sa njima.

So for Manshiyat Naser,

Tako sam za Manšijat Naser

I decided to write in Arabic the words of St. Athanasius of Alexandria,

rešio da napišem na arapskom reči Svetog Atanasija Aleksandrijskog,

a Coptic bishop from the third century,

koptskog episkopa iz trećeg veka,

who said: (Arabic),

koji je rekao: (arapski),

which means in English,

što znači:

"Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly

„Svako ko želi da jasno vidi svetlost sunca,

needs to wipe his eyes first."

mora najpre da obriše oči.“

It was really important for me

Bilo mi je veoma važno

that the community felt connected to the words.

da se zajednica oseća povezano sa rečima.

And for me this quote was perfectly reflecting the spirit of the project.

Za mene, ovaj citat je savršeno odražavao duh projekta.

So Father Samaan blessed the project,

Tako je otac Saman dao blagoslov projektu,

and his approval brought all the residents on board.

a njegovim odobrenjem su pridobijeni svi stanovnici.

Hundreds of liters of paint, a dozen blue manual lifts,

Stotine litara boje, desetine plavih teretnih platformi,

several trips back and forth to Cairo,

nekoliko putovanja do Kaira i nazad,

a strong and solid team from France, North Africa, Middle East and the US,

jak i dobar tim iz Francuske, Severne Afrike, Srednjeg Istoka i SAD-a

and after a year of planning and logistics, there we are,

i nakon godinu dana planiranja i logistike, tu smo,

my team and some members from the local community

moj tim i nekoliko članova lokalne zajednice,

creating a piece that will spread over 50 buildings,

stvaramo delo koje će se proširiti na više od 50 zgrada,

some filling up the space of the calligraphy

od kojih neki popunjavaju prostor za kaligrafiju

that I trace with colors.

koje ja ocrtam bojama.

Here some blue, there some yellow, there some orange.

Ovde malo plave, tu malo žute, tamo malo narandžaste.

Some others carrying some sand bags

Neki nose vreće sa peskom

and putting them on the top of the buildings

i stavljaju ih na vrhove zgrada

to hold those manual lifts,

da bi držale te teretne platforme,

a neki sastavljaju i rastavljaju iste te platforme

and some others assembling and disassembling those same lifts

and moving them around the different buildings.

i premeštaju ih na druge zgrade.

At the beginning of the project,

Na početku projekta,

I numbered all those buildings on my sketch,

sve te zgrade sam na svojoj skici obeležio brojevima

and there was no real interaction with the community.

i nije bilo stvarne interakcije sa zajednicom.

Ljudi nisu razumeli poentu svega ovoga.

People didn’t get the point of all this.

But fast enough, those building numbers became family names.

Međutim, ubrzo su ti brojevi zgrada postali porodična imena.

The first building was the house of Uncle Ibrahim.

Prva zgrada je bila kuća čika Ibrahima.

Uncle Ibrahim is such an enthusiastic person.

Čika Ibrahim je tako entuzijastična osoba.

He was always singing and making jokes,

Uvek je pevao i šalio se,

and his daughters and sons saved me from his bull

a njegove ćerke i sin su me spasili od njegovog bika

who wanted to attack me on the fourth floor.

koji je hteo da me napadne na četvrtom spratu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Actually, the bull saw me from the window and came out on the balcony.

Zapravo, bik me je video sa prozora i izašao na terasu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Yeah.

Da.

Uncle Ibrahim was always hanging out on the balcony

Čika Ibrahim je stalno provodio vreme na terasi

and talking to me while I was painting.

i pričao sa mnom dok sam slikao.

I remember him saying that he didn’t go to the mountain for 10 years,

Sećam se da je rekao da nije išao na planinu 10 godina

and that he never takes a day off.

i da nikada ne uzima slobodan dan.

He said that if he stopped working, who will stop the garbage?

Pitao se ako prestane da radi, ko će zaustaviti smeće.

But surprisingly, at the end of the project,

Međutim, na iznenađenje, na završetku projekta,

he came all the way to the mountain to look at the piece.

došao je skroz gore na planinu da bi pogledao delo.

He was really proud to see his house painted,

Bio je veoma ponosan kada je video svoju kuću oslikanu

and he said that this project was a project of peace and --

i rekao je za ovaj projekat da je projekat mira i -

sorry --

izvinite -

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you.

Hvala.

He said that it was a project of peace and unity

Rekao je da je to projekat mira i jedinstva

and that it brought people together.

i da je zbližio ljude.

So his perception towards the project changed,

Tako se promenila njegova percepcija projekta,

and my perception towards the community changed also,

a takođe se promenila i moja percepcija ove zajednice

and towards what they do.

i onoga što rade.

All the garbage that everybody is disgusted by is not theirs.

Sve to smeće kojim su svi zgroženi nije njihovo. Oni samo rade sa njime.

They just work out of it.

Actually, they don’t live in the garbage. They live from the garbage.

Zapravo, oni ne žive u đubretu. Žive od đubreta.

Tako sam počeo da sumnjam u sebe i da se pitam

So I started doubting myself and wondering

what was the real purpose of this whole project?

koja je bila prava svrha celog ovog projekta.

It was not about beautifying a place by bringing art to it.

To nije bilo ulepšavanje mesta donošenjem umetnosti.

It was about switching perception and opening a dialogue

Bilo je to menjanje percepcije i otvaranje dijaloga

on the connection that we have with communities that we don’t know.

o povezanosti koju imamo sa zajednicama koje ne poznajemo.

So day after day,

Tako je, dan za danom,

the calligraphy circle was taking shape,

kaligrafski krug poprimao oblik

and we were always excited to go back on the mountain to look at the piece.

i uvek smo se uzbuđeno vraćali na planinu da pogledamo delo.

And standing exactly at this point every day made my realize

Stajanje upravo na ovom mestu svakoga dana nateralo me je da shvatim

the symbolism behind this anamorphic piece.

simboliku iza ovog anamorfnog dela.

If you want to see the real image of somebody,

Ako želite da vidite nečiju stvarnu sliku,

maybe you should change your angle.

možda treba da promenite ugao.

There was doubts and difficulties,

Bilo je sumnji i poteškoća, kao što su strahovi i stres.

like fears and stress.

It wasn't simple to work in such environments,

Nije bilo jednostavno raditi u takvim okruženjima,

sometimes having pigs under you while you paint

gde nekad imate svinje ispod sebe dok slikate

ili se penjete na gomilu đubreta da biste dohvatili platformu.

or climbing a stack of garbage to reach a lift.

But we all got over the fear of the heights, the swinging lifts,

Ipak, svi smo prebrodili strah od visine, platforme koja se ljulja,

the strength of the smell

jačinu mirisa,

and also the stress of not finishing on time.

kao i stres nezavršavanja na vreme.

But the kindness of all those people made us forget everything.

Međutim, dobrota svih tih ljudi učinila je da sve zaboravimo.

The building number 3 was the house of Uncle Bakheet and Aunty Fareeda.

Zgrada broj tri bila je dom čike Bahita i tete Faride.

In Egyptian, they have this expression that says, "Ahsen Nas,"

Na egipatskom imaju izraz koji glasi: „Ahsen nes“,

which means "the best people."

što znači „najbolji ljudi“.

They were the best people.

Oni su bili najbolji ljudi.

We used to take our break in front of their houses,

Imali smo običaj da idemo na pauzu ispred njihovih domova,

and all the kids of the neighborhood

a sva deca iz komšiluka

used to join us.

bi nam se pridružila.

I was impressed and amazed by the kids of Manshiyat Naser.

Bio sam zadivljen i iznenađen decom Manšijata Nasera.

For the first few days, they were always refusing anything we were offering them,

Prvih nekoliko dana, uvek su odbijali šta god da im ponudimo,

even a snack or a drink.

čak i grickalice ili piće.

So I asked Aunty Fareeda, "Why is that?"

Upitao sam tetu Faridu: „Zašto je to tako?“

And she told me they teach their kids to refuse anything

Rekla mi je da uče svoju decu

da odbijaju stvari od nekog koga ne znaju

from somebody that they don't know

because maybe this person needs it more than they do.

jer je to možda toj osobi potrebno više nego njima.

So at this exact point I realized actually

Tako sam upravo u tom trenutku zaista shvatio

the Zaraeeb community was the ideal context

da je zajednica Zaraiba bila idealan kontekst

to raise the topic of perception.

za pokretanje teme percepcije.

We need to question our level of misconception

Potrebno je da preispitamo naš nivo pogrešnih shvatanja

and judgment we can have as a society

i rasuđivanja koje možemo posedovati kao društvo

upon communities based on their differences.

prema zajednicama na osnovu njihovih različitosti.

I remember how we got delayed on Uncle Ibrahim's house

Sećam se kako smo se usporili pri radu na čika Ibrahimovoj kući

when his pigs that are bred on the rooftop

kada su njegove svinje koje se uzgajaju na krovu

were eating the sand bags that hold the lifts.

jele vreće sa peskom koje drže platforme.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The house of Uncle Bakheet and Aunty Fareeda

Kuća čike Bahita i tete Faride

was this kind of meeting point.

bila je na neki način mesto sastanka.

Everybody used to gather there.

Svi su se tamo okupljali.

I think this is what Uncle Ibrahim meant

Mislim da je to čika Ibrahim mislio

when he said that was a project of peace and unity,

kada je rekao da je ovo projekat mira i jedinstva,

because I really felt that people were coming together.

jer sam ja zaista osećao da se ljudi zbližavaju.

Everyone was greeting us with a smile, offering us a drink

Svi su nas pozdravljali uz osmeh, nudili nam piće

or inviting us into their own house for lunch.

ili nas pozivali u svoju kuću na ručak.

Sometime, you are at the first level of a building,

U nekom trenutku se nalazite na prvom nivou zgrade,

and somebody opens his window and offers you some tea.

a neko otvori prozor i ponudi vam čaj.

Zatim se isto to desi na drugom spratu.

And then the same thing happens on the second floor.

A vi nastavljate sve do vrha.

And you keep going all the way to the top.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

I think I never drink as much tea as I did in Egypt.

Mislim da nikad nisam popio toliko čaja kao u Egiptu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And to be honest with you, we could have finished earlier,

Da budem iskren prema vama, mogli smo da završimo ranije,

but I think it took us three weeks because of all those tea breaks.

ali mislim da nam je trebalo tri nedelje zbog svih tih pauza za čaj.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

In Egypt, they have another expression, which is "Nawartouna,"

U Egiptu imaju još jedan izraz, a to je „Navartuna“,

which means, "You brought light to us."

što znači „Doneo si nam svetlo.“

In Manshiyat Naser they were always telling us this.

U Manšijat Naseru su nam stalno to govorili.

The calligraphy, actually --

Kaligrafija, zapravo -

I used a white glow-in-the-dark paint for the calligraphy

koristio sam belu boju koja svetli u mraku za kaligrafiju,

so at the end of the project, we rented some black light projectors

tako da smo na kraju projekta iznajmili projektore crnog svetla

and lit up the whole neighborhood,

i osvetlili ceo kraj,

surprising everybody around.

čime smo iznenadili sve unaokolo.

We wanted to tell them

Želeli smo da im kažemo

that they are the ones who brought light to us.

da su oni ti koji su nama doneli svetlo.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

The Zaraeeb community are strong, honest, hard workers,

Zajednicu Zaraiba čine jaki, iskreni, vredni radnici,

and they know their value.

a oni poznaju svoju vrednost.

The people of Cairo call them "the Zabaleen,"

Ljudi iz Kaira ih zovu „Zabalini“,

which means "the people of the garbage,"

što znači „ljudi smeća“,

but ironically, the people of Manshiyat Naser

ali ironično, ljudi Manšijat Nasera

call the people of Cairo the Zabaleen.

nazivaju ljude Kaira Zabalinima.

They say, they are the ones who produce the garbage, not them.

Kažu da su oni ti koji proizvode smeće, a ne oni.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

The goal was to leave something to this community,

Cilj je bio ostaviti nešto ovoj zajednici,

but I feel that they are the ones who left something in our lives.

ali smatram da su oni ti koji su ostavili nešto u našim životima.

You know, the art project was just a pretext

Znate, umetnički projekat je bio samo izgovor

for this amazing human experience.

za ovo neverovatno ljudsko iskustvo.

The art piece at some point will disappear, vanish,

Umetničko delo će u nekom trenutku nestati, iščeznuti,

a zapravo postoji neko ko gradi drugi sprat

and actually there is somebody who is building a second floor

in front of Uncle Ibrahim's house,

ispred kuće čike Ibrahima,

tako da prekriva deo slike,

so it's covering part of the painting,

so I might need to go back and paint over it.

pa ću možda morati da se vratim i oslikam ga.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It was about the experience,

U pitanju je bilo iskustvo,

about the story,

priča,

about the moment.

trenutak.

From the streets of the neighborhood,

Sa ulica susedstva,

the painting appears in fragments,

slika se javlja u delićima,

isolated from one another,

međusobno izolovanim,

standing alone.

koji stoje sami,

But connected with the sign of calligraphy

ali povezani znakom kaligrafije

that today reveals the powerful message that we should all think about

koji danas otkriva moćnu poruku da svi mi treba da promislimo

before we want to judge somebody.

pre nego što osudimo nekoga.

Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly

Svako ko želi da jasno vidi svetlost sunca

needs to wipe his eyes first.

mora najpre da obriše oči.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)