ONE DAY, ONE LIFE: Introduction to the video in Macedonia Zoran Petrovski Video is a latecomer in Macedonian art.

Even though there was a strong institutional support in the promotion of the medium all along the period of the eighties, it was nevertheless the appearance of cheaper and accessible video technology within the last decade that has opened ways for artists to start using it in their work. In the beginning of this period, video was predominantly seen as a part of different spacious installations. Works in a narrative or whatever other relatively autonomous video form was rarely present, and that is even more true in terms of some continuous or consistent engagement with the medium. Among few of the exceptions in this respect, were the works of Dragan Abijanic, who came to the video through the TV media, and was thus basically interested in its extension via the formal side of video aesthetics; Stevan Saskov and his synesthetic video trips into meditation; and most of all the crucial work of Zaneta Vangeli, whose conceptually complex and critical reflections on the issues of representation were consequently evolving in her series of videos and quite recently in her feature video film titled The Judge. Parallel to these formal and conceptual tendencies, younger generation of artists appearing later in the nineties made a shift of their interest toward immediate social issues reflecting the deeply troubled Macedonian society and its many ugly faces. Nikola Velkov, for example, suggestively speaks about the individual isolation and the existential angst in a society functional only for collectives, while Natasha Dimitrievska and Biljana Tanurovska in their co-operative video are trying to articulate the quiet and passive melancholia of the lost touch with reality. Reflections on social disturbances, difficult political turmoil and the loss of individual perspectives could be also found in the work of Irena Paskali, Ana Gligorova and Denis Saraginovski. Especially significant in this sense is the work of Irena Paskali, who is certainly the most dedicated and active video artists from her generation. Narrative simplicity and directness of her latest works is succeeding in the best way to bring both on personal and general human level many of the severe and dramatic traumas of the Macedonian society nowadays.

Interview with Irena Paskali Zoran Petrovski. Irena, since you have graduated in 2000 you have produced some nine video works, and had a good deal of participations in different shows and festivals. How did you manage to have such an intensive production? Its quite unusual when one knows how poor the conditions are in Macedonia. Irena Paskali. Well, I really feel hyperactive. I have lot of ideas and was lucky to have opportunities to realize some of them here in Macedonia, but also in abroad, by participating in some workshops and artist-residencies. Z.P: You final exam from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Skopje was with a video work. Since we all know that by all means this Faculty is very conservative, can you tell me if there were any problems or conflicts with your professors in your choice of the media and the subject for the exam? I.P: My interest for the video begun when I was on the third year of my studies, and it was only the understanding from my mentor that I was able to work on it. But, when the graduate exam came there were really conflicts and big troubles with the rest of professors. What was strange was that more than ten years before I graduated, it was my colleague Ibrahim Bedi who first introduced video for his final exam at the Faculty. So, it means that within these ten years there was no evolution at the Faculty. In despite of the interest of the students, the Faculty nevertheless remained closed and as if afraid from different approaches or concepts, but the traditional ones; they didnt even try at all to develop a department, some facilities or at least methods of learning about this or other new media. Z.P: Before you there were only Zaneta Vangeli and Dragan Abijanic who were dealing with the video on permanent basis. Did they have some influence in your involvement with the video and in your work in general? I.P: I didnt happen to meet them personally. I know only Zanetas work and I have respect for what shes doing. But, I dont think there was some influence in either way of my interest for the video. It just came by it self. As a student I wanted to try myself with different means, and it appeared that the tape was pretty satisfactory in turning many of my ideas into reality. My ambitions are growing bigger in that way, so that I would very much like to try myself in more complex projects and perhaps with a 16mm film tape. Z.P: How about the history of the medium or its recent video production? Are you aware of any of it? I.P: Recently I was in Geneva at the Video and Film Biennial where I could see several retrospectives of some respective video artists, and to get acquainted with the recent production. It was a very important experience. I was glad to realize that artists mainly are avoiding superficial effects and that the general direction is oriented toward social issues, which is close to my way of thinking. Also, it was obvious that theres less spontaneous improvisation and that more attention is paid to formal issues. Composition of each frame and mixing of different media, like film, DV and different digital images still make an important part of the present production. In a word, it was a motivating experience.

Z.P: In terms of the technical possibilities what does it mean to work with the video in Macedonia? Technically speaking, most of your videos are quite simple with an almost rudimentary post-production. I suppose few of the better-equipped studios must be very expensive. Isnt it frustrating for you to have such restrictions? I.P: Certainly that to some extent it could be frustrating. There are limitations in every stage of the production of a video here: from the cameras we could use to the final stage of postproduction. Of course that I would be much happier to have better quality cameras, more time for editing, good sound etc. But, anyway, the nature of my work is not very demanding: I dont like at all to use digital, animated or any other additional effects. Besides, my videos are strictly narrative. I wouldnt like to step-out from the reality with some unreal and over-done images. Z.P: Your first three videos are metaphorical narratives, with your body as their central subject. They make kind of a triptych in which you speak about the body itself and its limitations (Das Ich); the dangers of de-humanization coming from the science (Zwischen); and about its harmonious agreement with the four natural elements (Tetragramaton). After that came the documentary One Day, One Life - which is so far your most internationally exposed work where there was suddenly almost a complete shift toward social issues. What has been the urge for this change? I.P: All of them are part of me, part of my personality. Although identity issues, and thus dealing with the body might seem out of date, one can still work on it until theres an inner, personal urge for that. If I think in certain period that I can use the body language better than anything else, than I will do it again. On the other hand, I didnt start to deal with social issues because they are now up to date. They have imposed themselves just because there are things in our world - and especially here in Macedonia - which are so important to speak about that it would be irresponsible to avoid them. As anybody else in this country, I also live up together with all these dramatic social events happening to the people in the last several years. One Day, One Life, as well as For Our Own Benefit and On The Way To/From Macedonia are part of my every day reality that has urged me deeply to deal with them. Z.P: Can you tell me more about One Day, One Life? How did you come to this interesting woman and her story of becoming a homeless person? I.P: Duska Stijovic is the woman who has been my neighbour for more than twenty years. Whenever we would meet with her within all these years, she would immediately start telling me about her life story. When I moved out from that neighbourhood I realized I missed her and that I wouldnt like simply to forget about her. I was always fascinated with her story, and her ability to tell it so vividly in a just one day. Z.P: Was it for you merely the individual story of Duska Stijovic, a person on the margins of the society, or was it also a personification of the Macedonian society deeply drowned in social troubles and helplessly on the margins from the rest of Europe? I.P: I was definitely interested in Duska's story. I wasn't thinking at all of doing parables with the society in general. But, interestingly enough is that this is a symptomatic question. I was, namely, asked similar questions many times and in most of the places where "One Day, One Life" was shown. Thinking over why people react like that, I realized that this is an issue of representation, showing how much and in what a schematic way the media influences people's minds. That means that the context has much greater impact than the ability for individual einflung. This contextual pattern, however important for understanding contemporary art,

could be also a limitation for the way we see things around. If there weren't these images about poor and devastated Macedonia or the Balkans, served extensively within the last decade from the media, I doubt that people would still identify Duska with the context, but would turn around and see that there are homeless people and individual stories such as Duska's all around us and in whatever place on Earth. Z.P: On The Way To/From Macedonia is your last video that comes as a reaction to the war events in Macedonia in 2001. As we know, in this period everybody was going through a tremendous psychological pressure, lost of hopes and perspectives. The video in particular is about the dilemma of most of the younger people whether to stay or to leave the country when confronted with desperation and disagreement with political, economic and thus existential issues. What is interesting in the video is that you dont come to any conclusion to that dilemma - youre obviously leaving it open? I.P: Well, you know that the war was only the final and ultimate push for many people of my generation to ask themselves what is the point of staying here, what can we do to live normal lives. One cant simply see no future; for quite a long period one is simply not allowed to make believes in anything, but a mere daily survival. On the other hand, one also comes to the dilemma whats the point of going out, is it the real answer to our problems, or its maybe just another way to drop into a different kind of disillusionment? So, in a word, this is why this dilemma is unresolved not only in the video, but for me too. I believe its still a very frightening dilemma for many other people living in this country in this unfortunate period of time. Z.P: Speaking as an artist, do you have an idea what it means to make a career in some of the Western European countries? You have travelled a bit, so what is your experience or better say impression for the conditions that your colleagues in the West have to meet in order to realize themselves artistically? I.P: Theres certainly no paradise on Earth yet. Western societies I guess are far from it too. But, speaking pragmatically, the conditions on the level of technical standards are far better in the West. There are also I think much more opportunities for finding budgets for projects, much more working opportunities to make for living, and for making your way as an artist. However, what I like it here in our region, which I recognize the best, is the variety of good artistic ideas and amount of energy involved in making an artwork. Skopje, January 2002