If You Don’t Need It
Если вам не нужны

Night projection, intersection of Ismail str. with Cantemir Boulevard, Chisinau, Moldova, 29. july 2013

If You Don’t Need It | The Red Line, 2013, video, 17:02min

Если вам не нужны | красная линия, 2013, video, 17:02min

The project by Jana Kapelová and Michal Moravčík (Public Pedestal) s focused on the authenticity of the old part of the city of Chisinau. Through it the artists speculatively communicate about its possible future – planned extension of the Cantemir Boulevard. The two-channel projection is presenting the ongoing documentation process of their activities in this urban area.

Exchanging new standardized chairs on old ones (если вам не нужны – If You Don’t Need It), performed by the artists with local inhabitants, was related to some extent to the homogenization of the households and of the working area. The collected by the artists old and out of use furniture was redesigned and placed in the public space for being used again. It created new opportunities for redefining the relationship to the territory of the old town and “to appropriate” its authenticity once again.

Kapelová and Moravčík installed the rearranged chairs with street names written on them in three places where people usually wait for the minibuses (marshrutkas). Integral part of these three installations was also the красная линия (The Red Line) action, which consisted in a drawing with red marker applied by the artists in a subtle way on the furniture, protecting the traced endangered parts of the city.

Intervention, Puskin str. 28 (Cathedral Park), Chisinau, 19. - 30. September 2013

If You Don't Need It? Cantemir Boulevard, 2013, newspaper

Если вам не нужен? Cantemir Boulevard, 2013, newspaper

Jana Kapelová and Michal Moravčík (Public Pedestal) used format of newspaper as one of the other outcomes of their project “If You Don´t Need It?”. They documented a series of actions realized in part of the city Chisinau, in which is projected expansion of urban boulevard (exchange chairs, furniture redesign in the map shape of the affected area, metaphorical protection zone by drawing red lines on the furniture, stealing / disappearance of objects …) a significant change of this territory.

Newspapers use inverted hierarchical structure (photo documentation), which is commented by stolen – exhausted language of contemporary public art (texts).

The project returns back to the locality through the public showcase for newspapers reading. The “new” newspaper questioning to a random reading, If they do not need changes in Cantemir Boulevard. And also polemize with the art world as utopian platform for changes.