Thoughts on Lo Moran - Difference is a field project^installation
first I wanted to say 'thank you' to Lo for the work they did. I got very emotional when viewing it for a whole tonn of reasons. but in the end it all just made sense to me to meet this art project at this exact moment. I have never lived in America but growing up in Russia and then immigrating 3 times plus coming from a religious cult-ish family - the work hit all the right spots. it did so because my life is indeed a field and it's full of differences and compromises. it did so because I look into the world from very similar points as Lo. at least that's what came through to me.
so enough intros, let's get to the work itself.
so the first thing that I encountered at the Installation was series of comics which tell different stories. I loved the idea of a comics used as a media to tell not just stories but also give space to ideas and thoughts which Lo have compiled over the years while working on this. the chosen style of drawings and lettering looked really cute and attractive to me. But I have to admit that it was hard for me to keep the focus and attention at the amount of text. at times it felt more like an illustarted book than a comics. But I wasn't bothered by it so much cuz the topics and stories were engaging enough for me. they brought some memories and things that I could relate to. it even made me tear up a bit when I thought of how I had to sacrifice talking to my mom about my indentity and her religious beliefs so that we continue to have weather and health conversations.
the first impression I got from the installation in general was: that's overwhelming but interesting. And so I started to investigate piece by piece.
I went to check one corner then another. then took a picture of something. I got dreamy when I looked at the big matrass. then I realised... this is my room.
this could be my room. This is home. this could be my home. This is how it could look like if I wasn't forced by the systems of opression to leave what I had built and what my parents built for me. There wasn't a lot of things there and the overwhelmimg feeling came at first not because there were many things in the room but because I do not have a home at the moment. yes, everything laying there made sense, the nail polish I collected for years to help channel my moods and nonbinary substance of identity. the wall with comics and texts reflecting my interest in how the world is built politically. a pair of high heel boots. plants. and many other little deatils and things each making sense to me. this is how my dream room could look like if I wasn't forced out and deprived of resources by the system.
I didn't get to listen to the interviews that were also there because when I was in that room I already had conversations in it and they were enough to fill in the space and make it alive for me. but I think the interview pieces are very much needed there.
These are the conversations I could have if I wasn't forced out. this is a sneak peek into life that I didn't get to have because I always had to fight for my own existence financially, conceptually, physically and never had a moment to really stop and create.
The table with the books on the topics that bombard my mind for years. I am not gonna enlist them but these are all the topics that a person tired of constant system figthting is thinking about.
So yes the installation did work as a whole for me even though at first I was confused by it.
I have been following american politics for almost 3 years by now. It is kinda my hobby, I am subscribed to a tonn of YouTube channes and they always pop up in my feed. I have a small group of dear Minsk friends with whom we sometimes talk about these political topics and news. with them we took part in the protest movement in 2020. and we are still engaged in it in some way.
My main sources of information on american politics are the Hill and Breaking points, but also some specific youtube channels like Kyle Kylinski, Bad Faith podcast and etc. The reason for this interest is very simple, americans are one of the most influential on the planet, what happens there greatly affects many different processes in the world. But it is not only that, it is also that I am very passionate and curious in how all these things work in different countries. So I also follow politics in other places and find many similarities.
So I was very happy to see that someone else is also really involved into this. and not just involved, but in my opinion Lo ask the right question. How do I talk to those who I disagree with? (my interpreattion of course) it is the general question that I have been confronted with over and over in my life. starting from the point where I discovered my queerness. then being a part of the protest movement in Belarus. then getting deepeer into the Russia-Ukraine war. and oh lord why are all these things so similar to what Lo describes and researches in his work?
so yeah, filling up this room with these exact obljects and topics made it come alive and made me feel like this could be my room. my room in a perfect world. my room that is a field full of differences.
My mom used to tell me that when people have nothing to talk about they talk politics. I have come to learn that my mom was wrong with this. I always find the most interesting people are those with whom I talk about politics. Then it appears that they also like and enjoy art, create amazing noise music, dj and etc. this happened to me literally last week when I met an australian person. It happened to me when I met my Belarusian and Ukranian friends. That magic is unbelievable sometimes.
This happened to me when I met Lo and the musical part of the installation that they created definetely nailed the overall experience for me. The room was accompanied by the ambient-noise-ish works of different artists. it really helped to immerse into it. I wasn't aware of it at first but over time it started to make more sense.
Lo also create harsh noise, which I am listening to right now. Listening while dreaming about noise bar where my favourite ukranian and worldwide noise artists could play. Where we will live in a future that doesn't know anything about borders and the political issues of the day will be: how do we save civillisation from being burned by our dying sun.
