Blijdrecht, August 2010, Amstelveen, May 2010 Budapest, April 2010 Innsbruck, November 2009 Den Bosch, July 2009 Zurich, July 2009 Luxembourg, May 2009 Stavelot, May 2009 Zagreb, April 2009 Novo Mesto, April 2009 London, March 2009 St. Savinien, February 2009 Seville, January 2009 Lisbon, January 2009 New York, November 2008
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The white, blue and red of the Slovenian flag are the pan-Slavic colours. Slovenia declared independence in 1991 and placed after a long and controversial dispute its arms in the upper hoist of the tricolour to create a distinct national flag.
The people in nowadays Croatia and Slovenia had a friendly relationship for a very long time. This changed when Yugoslavia broke up; suddenly people that lived together felt separated. Families and friends that lived on the new made border were at once in different countries and hence not any longer attached to one another. Slovenia, already part of the European Union, got in conflict with Croatia when the countries were shaped and the sea border was defined after international laws. It left Slovenia with a tiny peace of shore, not big enough to have good access to the sea. Croatia doesn't want to give any land to Slovenia and when the European Commission voted for the acceptance of Croatia, Slovenia blocked it with its veto and left both countries in an impossible situation, influencing everyday live in a negative way.
Despite of the helpful people in Novo Mesto we did not succeed in completing a field of Slovenian flags. An unexpected cloudburst soaked the cardboard flags and made it impossible to finish the field. Iztok Hotko, curator for Galerijo Simulaker, helped organizing and Bostjan Pucelj (www.bostjanpucelj.com) made some pictures.
The most remarkable statement was: "Slovenia is propaganda bullshit". Other people reacted more subtle; they recognize the pan-Slavic colours, but have no feeling towards the arms of Slovenia. It's only designed to have a different flag as Russia has and doesn't represent their country.
We hope to be back in Slovenia to make a field of flags and to spread the message "unity through identity".
For articles in Slovenian media:
