Page 59 - Buy Russia - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine April 2017

bne April 2017 CULTURE I 59 & PEOPLE
ARTS
“I wanted to emphasise people’s feelings because they are not reflected in polls, only in mass explosions, such as protests.”
Apart from the blocks of paper, the project also includes 33 interviews with Moldovans who talk about what the financial debt and duty towards their country means to them.
The idea for the installation came to Esanu shortly after the scandal erupted, and he started working on it in September last year. The initial plan was to have the installation ready before the November presidential election, won by Socialist Party leader Igor Dodon. The artist believes this might have helped people “weigh things better before casting their vote”. However, due to financial constraints, the launch was postponed.
There were other problems too. Finding a place to exhibit
the installation was not an easy job: both the National Museum and the Brancusi Gallery in Chisinau refused to host the installation, which Esanu speculates might have been due to fear of the authorities’ response. “Some people still live with that mentality that they can lose their job,” he says. Potential sponsors, including private companies operating in Moldova, were also reluctant to have their names associated with the project.
Although several investigations have been launched to try to recover the stolen money, Esanu has little hope that it will
ever be found. However, he hopes his project will make people more aware of the importance of civic activism.
It’s not clear whether the installation will have any political impact. It has received positive reviews from visitors, but has not been visited by any Moldovan politicians so far.
Esanu says he has not yet decided what will happen to the fake dollar bills when the exhibition ends, and is considering
“I wanted to emphasise people’s feelings because they are not reflected in polls, only in mass explosions, such as protests.”
throwing the question open to the public. “There are many ideas,” he says. “I was thinking of a time capsule, to bury the billion and take it out in 30 years; there were ideas that we could recycle it, burn it, maybe give it to a school to use as biomass – we will see.”
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