UN_COUNTRYBALLS vs. THE NATION STATE
Clusterduck
We live in times of hate and division. Uncertainty and fear are pushing an increasingly fragmented social body towards shallow and polarizing answers, while the scattered remnants of late modernity are seeking protection behind the ancient walls of abstract identities: the eternal return of ‘blood and soil’.
But like the fascists of yesteryear, today’s neoreactionaries are ruthless tacticians, cynically exploiting the very technologies they claim to despise. Social Media Platforms and digital communication technologies have become essential tools of their political propaganda. In this context, even (or especially) seemingly innocent formats have proven very effective at inoculating neoreactionary views into the unknowing public. Memes, in particular, have lately shown to be powerful vectors of social change, shifting global narratives.
With their new work, Clusterduck want to take a look at an important example of such a seemingly trivial format, the so called “Countryballs” (or “Poland- balls”): very simple, comic representations of national identities and stereotypes, which in their interactions reflect widespread cliches and an overly simplistic view of world history.
Read this Booklet for more information about the work of Clusterduck.
Clusterduck is also part of the EMARE residency 2020/2021 at IMPAKT, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.