Marija Koneska
Emptied Nest
January 20 - March 9, 2021
Photographic Collage
Emptied Nest
January 20 - March 9, 2021
Photographic Collage
Emptied Nest
Due to specific political and economic circumstances in Macedonia, people are more
likely to migrate. So, influenced by this issue, I did this project that channels how,
with the departure of people, the city changes its appearance.
At the centre of my attention I am putting the city of Prilep, my home town, where
the tendency to migrate is especially pronounced. 10 years ago Prilep was a city of
80,000 inhabitants, and today, according to the number of health booklets (official
census data do not exist), there are only 40, 000. In other words, the number of
inhabitants is almost halved. The city remains without people, but also
without life, and that reason has prompted me to engage in this topic. My
goal is not just to show the desolate houses and streets, but to show what we are
really losing. How the city itself is dying.
Due to specific political and economic circumstances in Macedonia, people are more
likely to migrate. So, influenced by this issue, I did this project that channels how,
with the departure of people, the city changes its appearance.
At the centre of my attention I am putting the city of Prilep, my home town, where
the tendency to migrate is especially pronounced. 10 years ago Prilep was a city of
80,000 inhabitants, and today, according to the number of health booklets (official
census data do not exist), there are only 40, 000. In other words, the number of
inhabitants is almost halved. The city remains without people, but also
without life, and that reason has prompted me to engage in this topic. My
goal is not just to show the desolate houses and streets, but to show what we are
really losing. How the city itself is dying.
About the Artist
Taking into consideration that we are living in interesting times, and I am coming from
quite an interesting place, it is understandable why I wish to create art that raises
awareness of the problems that concern my community. I prefer investigating through conversation with people, not just people who I know, but also with people I do not know. For example, while I was
working on the project “I am Fine”, in Macedonia there were big protests every
day, so people that I included in that project are people that I met on the streets.
And for the project “Emptied Nest” I literally knocked on 115 doors of unknown families
asking them questions in regards to the topic concerned with the project. This process is
very important to me because I feel that not only my world, but also the world of others
is being expanded. When I’m done with the art work, I first show the result to the
people who were involved in the research and when I see their reaction, it helps decide
if I am on the right way.
Most of my works are figurative, but my idea have never been to present someone’s
look or emotions. I am only using their expression, movement, body language and trying
to emphasize it in the way that will show the problem that I was researching.
quite an interesting place, it is understandable why I wish to create art that raises
awareness of the problems that concern my community. I prefer investigating through conversation with people, not just people who I know, but also with people I do not know. For example, while I was
working on the project “I am Fine”, in Macedonia there were big protests every
day, so people that I included in that project are people that I met on the streets.
And for the project “Emptied Nest” I literally knocked on 115 doors of unknown families
asking them questions in regards to the topic concerned with the project. This process is
very important to me because I feel that not only my world, but also the world of others
is being expanded. When I’m done with the art work, I first show the result to the
people who were involved in the research and when I see their reaction, it helps decide
if I am on the right way.
Most of my works are figurative, but my idea have never been to present someone’s
look or emotions. I am only using their expression, movement, body language and trying
to emphasize it in the way that will show the problem that I was researching.