Neither There Nor There

A list of streets of Wrocław is read in a dull, monotonous voice of a speech synthesizer, first in German, then in English, respecting the rules of pronunciation in these languages while ignoring the principles of the Polish language. It is an ironic reading of the map of Wrocław – a city sitting on the fence between its past and future. Both perspectives are full of problems, challenges and conflicts, The past, symbolised in the work by the German language, translates into neglect, oblivion or misrepresentation (suffice it to evoke the image of the Nadodrze district). The future – indicated by the English language – is connected with a desire for change and development, but coupled with a lack of a concrete vision and an inferiority complex about the West (as indicated by the English names of almost all new residential developments in the city). The present is the moment of disoriented thinking about a city without its full identity, whose missing elements can be found neither in the past nor in the future.

photo by Małgorzata Kujda