Distributive Justice
The project deals with the issue of fair distribution of goods in society and questions the meaning of a personal share in it
multidisciplinary project, 2001. — 2005.
The project was created as a platform for the joint creation of new knowledge with a collaborative team and the audience. Through multidisciplinary cooperation, the project was built as a base for audience participation. During the operation of the project (2001 — 2005), the Internet platform was translated into 6 languages, including Korean and Turkish, and thus enabled equal complementation of the work in different socio-political contexts.
Author: Andreja Kulunčić. Co-authors: Gabrijela Sabol (sociologist), Ivo Martinović (photographer), Neven Petrović (philosopher), Trudy Lane (designer), Dejan Janković (designer), Matija Pužar (programmer), Momo Kuzmanović (editor). Collaborator: Tomislav Janović (philosopher). Production of the association MAPA.
The work was set up in the form of an interactive spatial installation in which visitors to the exhibition could participate in the “building of a just society” by following points in the space in different ways. The space of the installation is at the same time a space for discussion, lectures, conversations and exchange of opinion. It is a place for the creation of knowledge, a laboratory that changes by the accumulation of information while the project is being run in different cities and countries. Everything was accessible online. Mobile elements for the exhibition space were designed by Siniša Ilić (architect), Ivo Martinović and Andreja Kulunčić.
The visitor is invited to play computer games in which he or she distributes material and non-material goods, building society according to their own conscience, or choosing a model of society that they think is just. Then, as a result of the games, they get a certain social profile and a text with the basic theoretical postulates of the society to which they are inclined. Within the installation space, they fill in the questionnaire, participate in discussions, give an interview, view available summaries of various theories of society, statistics, game results, the opinions of other visitors, recordings of dialogues with people from different countries who respond to the same questions about the just distribution in society and their own views about it, review the literature lists and exhibited books, and read the online and offline newsletter that was created as an integral part of the project (3 editions).
The goal of the project was to correlate “subjective” and “objective” perspectives, to awaken critical awareness of one’s own moral notions of justice, with the help of empirical data, virtual reality experience, and theoretical reflections. By participating in the project, the visitors changed their thinking about the (impossibility) of creating a just society, and at the same time influenced the further course of the project.
As the project was exhibited at very different international exhibitions, such as Documenta 11 in Kassel, the 6th Istanbul Biennale, in the Witney Museum of American Art, and galleries and museums in various countries, it managed to activate around 20,000 visitors. Thus the project created a broad overview and comparison of the current thinking on fair distribution and became a living platform for discussions and joint reflections from different positions.
The “Distributive Justice” project was exhibited at the following collective exhibitions: Big Torino 2002 (Torino, Italia, 2002.), Documenta11 (Kassel, Germany, 2002.), Plus ultra (Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria, 2002.), The American Effect (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, US, 2003.), 8. Istanbul biennale (Istanbul, Turkey, 2003.), 4. triennial of contemporary Slovenian art-U3 (Moderna galeria Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2003.), A New Past (Marronnier Art Centre, Seoul, South Korea, 2004.), Positive Critical Imagination (Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, UK, 2008.), The Creators of Owners (gallery Off Limits, Madrid, Spain, 2008.), Collections in motion (the first permanent exhibition MSU, Zagreb, 2010.); and at the following solo exhibitions in Artspace Visual Art Centre (Sydney, Australia, 2002.), Extended media gallery (HDLU, Zagreb, 2003.), Museum MADRE (Napoli, Italia, 2011.).