WELCOME TO
IDENTITY LAND
IDENTITY LAND: SPACE FOR a MILLION IDENTITIES By Gabrielle Kennedy
A national identity is an organic phenomenon. It is never static and always subject to political, social and cultural movements. It’s a tedious moan these days to hear how globalization has led to a homogenization of cultures. It is a given that everywhere from Sydney to Barcelona will be home to many of the same shops selling the same things, cafés that sell the same coffee, and with people who share similar lifestyles and even value systems. Countries like Belgium are even less able to pinpoint tangible examples of who they are and why. It is a country of converging cultures. They are a hybrid people with three languages, a population that reflects centuries of rule by overlords from France, Spain, Austria and Holland as well as more recent immigration from Congo and Northern Africa. There are also over a hundred thousand expatriates in the capital Brussels, home of the EU and NATO headquarters, which represent 10% of the city’s population. Typically, expatriates stay for a short spell and then depart. That makes for a very disparate population. Using this lack of identity as a start point Erik Kessels has gone about seeking a creative way to solve the problem by inventing an identity for one million people. Identity Land – space for a million identities, a Droog Lab project led by Erik Kessels, draws on the cultural icons and characteristics that usually collide to create character. Currency, language, literature, music and politics. For this exhibition, designers and artists created ways to provide products and realms that could feed and eventually define who a people are. “This idea works in Belgium because it really is an extreme place,” says Erik Kessels co-founder and art director of communications agency KesselsKramer in Amsterdam. “Through 2010 and 2011 they had no government for 541 days. And if you talk to the people there about this issue they also think that not having any clear national identity is a problem. They do not feel good about it.”
The situation in Belgium is exasperated because of the entrenched language divide. There are three official languages – Dutch (or Flemish), French and German. This creates a split and sometimes even a clash that is carried over into politics and makes democracy an even more fractured process. “But it is not just Belgium,” says Kessels. “This lack of identity is more common and widespread than people think. A lot of smaller countries have multiple identities, like Holland for example, which has also experienced a lot of immigration. It gets to a point where there really is no longer any single fixed identity.” In the Netherlands, Moroccan and Turkish immigration has become a political policy. “For the past decade there have been a lot of problems,” Kessels says. Populist politicians like Geert Wilders have been playing these insecurities. It seems that a weaker national identity leads to insecurities amongst individuals who feel increasingly disenfranchised and threatened by changes that they feel they have had no say in. Such insecurities can be manipulated by fearmongering politicians who aggravate people’s fear of difference. Holland’s own Princess Maxima, herself an immigrant from Argentina and now married to the crown prince, once famously quipped that there’s no such thing as “the Dutch identity.” “It was a slip of the tongue, but also really interesting,” says Kessels. “I mean she is an outsider and comes here and sees all these different identities. Her remark wasn’t even meant to sound bad because that description isn’t even necessarily negative.” Using this uneasiness and sense of the undefined and unknown, Kessels thought it would be interesting to create an experiment. Rather than define a narrow identity, he has turned having multiple identities into an advantage. Based on his team’s research they discovered that creating a sort of post-nationalism is possible. A situation beyond the twentieth-century nationalism that embraces more movable and nebulous national borders.
“Personally I find it really encouraging and even comforting that one country can have a lot of identities,” Kessels says. “You just need to work out how to turn it into a personal advantage.”
And it is not overly unrealistic in so far as design will always play a role in creating national identities. Design reveals taste, culture and aesthetics. Design communicates.
Maybe it will never happen, maybe it can never happen, but using the familiar KesselsKramer experimental and irreverent approach, Kessels, with the rest of the team, has created potential icons for a post-national identity for one million fictitious citizens.
“The difference these days is that there is multiple choice,” says Kessels. “There is less consensus. I think the car that can be anything best exemplifies this. Everything seems chaotic, but one just needs to work out how to feel comfortable with the confusion while at the same time finding some meaning or relevance in it all.”
Identity Land is populated by a very involved and politically active society. “There are fewer protections, but more possibilities,” explains Kessels. The national borders are not fixed, the public services flexible, and the language and media are open to become whatever the people desire. In a design by Thomas Lommée, a car can be a delivery van, an emergency vehicle or a taxi; and the border between one country and the next can be the horizon, which moves with science rather than politics. “You go on the street and hail an ambulance,” Kessels explains. “It saves a lot of time.” Of course none of the products presented in the exhibition are to be taken too seriously. They are mostly provocations – titillating eye-openers, albeit ones with the power to really make visitors rethink the possibilities. “The exhibition is an experiment, but the subject is not,” says Kessels. “I think the underlying point is to make people realize that they can be proud of coming from a multi-layered place. Everyone has a sense of pride in where they come from, sometimes it is just a matter of working out how to define it.” And that the “products” exhibited are not strictly usable fits the Belgium character, which has always been a hotbed for absurdist art. “The surrealism movement was huge,” explains Kessels, referring to the movement represented by painter René Magritte of ‘This is not a pipe’ fame. “Being unrealistic is in their DNA.” A transparent flag that always changes depending on where it is hung by Edith Dekyndt, a coin not marked with a member of royalty, but polished down to a mirror by Helmut Smits. These aren’t realistic products, but products designed to show how a disparate group of people can feel more unified. But then again, there’s no reason why a country couldn’t adopt this mentality. The latter is one of the more revealing objects included in the exhibition. The absurdity of the results remind one of the way Andy Warhol confronted his viewers with the upcoming consumerism of his day. Now Erik Kessels appears to say to the global, cosmopolitan elite: you really want to live your life without roots in a local community? Here’s your non-identity. Live with it.
And on another level one could posit the question: Are any of these experimental attempts to define a national identity any more random or irrelevant than what is actually being used to define who we are? “Often national identity is brought back to a souvenir,” says Kessels. “How stupid can you make it? It is so clichéd and tacky, but yet somehow these icons like windmills and clogs make people feel secure… even though the content is largely artificial, it is no more absurd than the emblems and artefacts that many people cling to as a way of feeling a part of a bigger entity.” According to Kessels people living in a country do share something, but that something can no longer be defined. Neat definitions no longer apply. “We live in this big pot of soup,” he says. “It is not a pure soup, but a soup brimming with many different types of vegetables, which can also be really tasty.” And that’s because as the car carrying a moving horizon by Helmut Smits in the exhibition shows, borders are not as fixed or relevant as any Homeland Security office likes to think. The film, created by Hans van der Meer visualizes this better than any words can say. It depicts a football match played by two teams. Each player on both sides wears his own individual uniform. The game starts and it is impossible for fans to pin point which player is on which team. It is chaos, but it is its own chaos, and it is up to us to find ways to make sense of it.
Belgium is one of the few well-known countries that lacks a quintessential national identity. It holds the world record for having endured the longest period without a national government. Historically, it has been a field for foreign battles and conquests; it is a country with constant internal tensions and bureaucratic complexity. It is home to the capital of the European Union, yet its identity is not singular, obvious or outspoken. Belgium embraces multiple identities. It gives space to individuals and their opinions, it prefers diversity - even disagreement and rebellion over forced consensus and obedience. With the globalization of ideas, people and goods, and with the rising impact of transnational alliances and networks, positioning a nation state as an isolated entity is becoming obsolete. The quest for a national identity is not only outdated, it makes one ill-prepared to deal with human migration, globalized networks and other forms of international cooperation.
Droog Lab:
Team:
Identity Land is part of the Droog Lab series, ‘Here, there, everywhere’. Initiated by Renny Ramakers (co-founder and director of Droog), and in collaboration with designers, consulting experts and local partners, Here, there, everywhere speculates how situations worldwide can inspire new directions for design. Current and past project locations include Dubai, New York, the Canadian North, Moscow, Mumbai and China, where themes such as ambition, survival and copying have resulted in outcomes ranging from imaginary brands to future city concepts and new business models. Here, there, everywhere will be published in a book in 2013. The initiative is funded by Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, City of Amsterdam and local partners.
Direction: Renny Ramakers (Droog) Lead designer: Erik Kessels (KesselsKramer) Partner: Jan Boelen (Z33) Designers: Anthony Burrill, Edith Dekyndt, Droog Lab, The Doublethink Project, Jessica Gysel, Thomas Lommée, Cecilia Azcarate Isturiz, Hans van der Meer, Karel de Mulder, Bart Eysink Smeets(KesselsKramer), Helmut Smits, Jurian Strik(KesselsKramer), Yuri Veerman. Exhibition: bijlbuschmann Consultants: Walter Bettens (DAMn magazine), Noël Slangen, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès (The Khatt Foundation) Content & project management: Agata Jaworska (Droog Lab) Interns: Callum Copley, Luís Giestas, Wendy Smith (Droog Lab)
www.drooglab.com
Whereas clinging to a dominant identity can cause alienation, stagnation and conflict, an understated identity fosters much-needed openness. Freedom from nationalism is liberating to visitors and inhabitants alike. Identity Land - by Droog Lab with Erik Kessels is an imaginary society that embraces a new post-nationalistic attitude that is spreading around the world. Without a fixed location but with potential to emerge anywhere, Identity Land offers alternative solutions to national sentiments, symbols, services and boundaries, that can be adopted by existing nations or perhaps created by people themselves. Join us at www.identityland.net
WELCOME TO IDENTITY LAND Space for a million IDENTITIES. Where a singular identity is not enforced, nor aspired to. Here, we don’t believe in forced consensus. We don’t try to unify mentality. Or give you a false sense of pride. A reason for being here. We prefer extreme differences over mediocracy. We know people have their own identity. And will find their own way. Here you are not expected to be a passive citizen. You can associate freely and collaborate in building a nation. As an Identity Lander, you can be at home anywhere. We hope you enjoy the space for a million identities.
It doesn’t matter where you come from, but where you go to.
Isn’t that the strange thing about the so-called nation state: that we are all supposed to share the same characteristics, problems and aspirations? Just because we, or our parents, happen to be born there?
A few years ago I attended a dinner of the Belgo-British Conference in the Scottish National Gallery. During his speech, the director of the museum told the Belgian attendees to be more proud of their artistic heritage. Haven’t the Belgians produced tons of world class paintings? I looked around and noticed that indeed I was surrounded by superb paintings of Belgian origin. This little moment of unexpected pride vanished as we walked back to the hotel. As some Belgians pointed out, the most famous painters were Flemish, rather than Belgian. Maybe, argued a francophone colleague, but Magritte is from Brussels, not Flanders. To which a Flemish woman declared emotionally that historically, Brussels is Flemish, but that the French-speaking bourgeoisie had annexed our capital. The last – and in the eyes of many Belgians, the most stupid – remark came from a Briton who tried to intervene asking why we can’t just call it Belgian as such. Wouldn’t that be easiest? I come from a family that would not just find such a question a stupidity; it would be an insult. My great-grandfather, a writer, was imprisoned for many years, lost his political rights and his job because he was an anti-Belgium activist during the Second World War. According to the Flemish-nationalist history writers, he was a victim of the post-war repression by the state of Belgium. The Belgium-minded historians however say he committed high treason against the state by being a member of an organization that supported and collaborated with Nazi Germany in order to achieve the end of Belgium and the birth of the Flemish state. Whichever interpretation you want to accept, it would have been a big mistake to talk to my greatgrandfather about Belgian art. In the last years of his long life, he gave me the diaries he had written during his imprisonment. I read how he defended his innocence, how he created and played political puppet theatre and how the Belgian state took everything away from him. No wonder that I – his great-grandson – started reading novels about the great Flemish past and that I put a Flemish flag on the wall of my room. Next to the flag of Bruges, because wasn’t that the real capital of Flanders? “A new nation will be born the day we get rid of this fake nation of Belgium, where the francophone part still rules against our will!” Frankly, I am glad this Flemish-nationalist period of mine didn’t last long. If you delve a little deeper in history, you can easily find that so many great nationalistic stories are based on nothing more than myths and legends. A glorious victory in a heroic battle turns out to be a trivial event in actuality. Great warriors of superhuman proportions are in fact one-day flies that had courage but above all luck. But what convinced me much more to drop the nationalist discourse is that I realized that my great-grandfather was not right, but wrong. It was wrong to be member of an authoritarian movement and it was very wrong to admire Nazi Germany. Even if he didn’t know about the Holocaust. So I removed my Flemish flag (and the one of its imaginary capital Bruges) and I didn’t replace it with another one. Instead, I started wondering: why do people need flags? I always hated and refused to follow a group behind a guide holding an umbrella or a number in the air. I even refused the identifica-
tion number at school, without which you were refused some services. So for what sake should I follow a flag and sing the songs about exaggerated battles of the past? And why would I allow non-elected people to speak in my name only for the reason that I happen to live in the same area? One family, one state Isn’t that the strange thing about the so-called nation state: that we are all supposed to share the same characteristics, problems and aspirations? Just because we, or our parents, happen to be born there? That is what the story of the nation state tries to make us believe. It is a group of people, with the same language, the same history and the same volonté generale (general will) brought together in one state. Nineteenth century thinkers and artists did everything they could in order to make clear that the ultimate happiness of every citizen depended on living in a nice homogeneous country with the most glorious past and the brightest future. One big family in one big house. Vive la France, Long live the Queen, Deutschland über alles! The only sad thing about the nation state is that it is a project that is never complete. There are always territories with people who belong to the nation but which happen to lie in other countries. The most famous example is Alsace-Lorraine or Elzas-Lotharingen. This French-German region was part of the project of the French and the German nation state. The only solution was war. The biggest problem is that Europe is full of these kinds of borderline territories. Schleswick-Holstein, Piemonte, Savoie, Istria, Limburg, Bessarabia, Ruthenia, French-Flanders, Bretagne, Transniestria, Bohemen… to name just a few. The nice thing about these regions is that their architecture, cuisine and language are a mixture of both sides of the border. They do not only prove how artificial borders can be, but also how difficult it is to achieve the higher goals of the project of the nation state. The second problem of the project is that there are also always people inside the nation state that do not really belong there and thus spoil the family feeling. Some do not speak the same language, some live in these annoying borderline territories and some are born elsewhere and do not share the same history and characteristics. There are only two solutions to this problem: either force them to integrate into the family or send them back to their own family, if necessary, with thousands or even millions at the same time. The cruellest examples of these policies might lie in the past, but nevertheless, this way of reasoning is still the sad reality today. It is the very idea of the homogeneous nation state that inspires xenophobic parties and movements all over Europe. It is still this nineteenth century romanticism of one family, one state that inspires the extreme right in their racist discourse to get rid of ‘foreigners’ because they do not ‘belong here’. It was the same Romanticist idea of one nation one state that inspired revolutions all over Europe in 1830. In Germany the so-called Burschenschaften – the elite student circles at the universities – started burning reactionary books and demanded that Germany would unite as one big country. As a reaction, the German Emperor declared the Burschenschaften illegal,
but they continued their battle underground. In Italy, one year later, Giuseppe Mazzini went to Florence where he joined the secret political organization ‘I Carbonari’. He was put in jail where he started to outline a political movement to unite Italy. Both events in Germany and Italy would lead to their unification thirty years later. Still in 1830 there was an insurrection of Poland against the Russian Czar. First the Poles asked for more rights and access to high functions in the administration, but it quickly turned into a Romanticist uprising, crushed by the Czar. The same year, Greece could finalize its war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. With a little help from Lord Byron, Greece could claim to be the first nation state of Europe. Belgium: the state without nation However, two revolutions in 1830 were not based on Romanticist ideas. The first one was in France where revolutionaries replaced the autocratic King Charles X by the citizen-King Louis-Philippe, reinstalling the principles of the French Revolution of 1789. The second non-Romanticist revolution led to a new European country: Belgium. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the European superpowers decided to create a buffer state between them: the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This country consisted of what are currently the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Willem I, the King of the Netherlands, was an autocratic ruler. He did not only dislike the fact that a part of his people spoke French, he couldn’t stand the Belgian liberals who asked for ministerial responsibility, freedom of the press, association and religion. Willem I also collided with the Belgian Catholic Church. After the performance of an opera (La Muette de Portici) on August 25th, 1830, the audience stormed outside crying for liberty. The liberals and the Church cooperated in a revolution in order to gain independence from the ‘autocratic Netherlands’. As two-thirds of the Dutch army in Belgium consisted of Belgians who wanted the same liberties, the army quickly collapsed and the state of Belgium was born. Although a flag and a national anthem were created – there is no country without a flag or an anthem – no one thought about the building of a nation with its own heroes, historic battles, myths or legends. On the contrary, a National Congress wrote immediately a constitution in which all the freedoms and the ministerial responsibilities were integrated. It was only after the Constitution was proclaimed that the new King arrived. In other words, Belgium as a state was created on the basis of liberal and not nationalistic ideas. Some say it was not a matter of choice as Belgium is an artificial country of two different cultures – the Latin and the German culture – and without history. It is true that the borders of Belgium are artificial, but that is the case with all countries. It is not true that Belgium has no history. Belgica was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire, with the German city Trier as its capital. It was located in exactly the same area as Belgium is right now, albeit larger. So, being a non-nation state was a choice, rather than a necessity. Living in a non-nation state is problematic for nationalists. Still today, behind the Belgian flag there are no myths, no one
big homogeneous family, but instead, a trilingual, multicultural and, even a somewhat anarchistic society. Therefore Flemish nationalists try to create a new nation that is clear for everyone: one language, one territory, one history. Historically, the Flemish movement had enough reasons to fight for equal treatment as they and their language had unfortunately been discriminated. But, in this strife they used the Romanticist ideas of glorifying the common past (which does not exist) and using the technique that people have to choose: either you are proFlanders or you are pro-Belgium and thus a traitor. Why do nationalists have so many symptoms of the inferiority complex? Identity is a choice In his book ‘Identity and Violence: the Illusion of Destiny’ (2006), Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen claims that no one has the right to choose my identity on my behalf, nor to judge me because of my origins. Judging or excluding people because they are black, Muslim or American is not just racism. It is a negation of the individual. No one can put me in a group and judge me because of their own criteria. Individuals have the choice to form their own identity. As an example: I am Flemish, Belgian and European; I was raised Catholic; I speak Dutch, French, English, Italian, German and some Arabic; I live in Cairo; I like literature; I am a liberal, I am a writer, I am a historian, I am a husband and a father; I adore Italian wine, I am a fan of opera, and so forth. My identity is very complex and has many elements. I can choose the elements of my identity I find most important. Nobody else has the right to do that. If I decide that the most important elements of my identity are being a writer, loving opera and Italian wine, why on Earth should someone judge me for being Flemish? In fact, Facebook is a nice example of how identity works. People choose their friends and join groups as they want. Some people love the connection with the city they live in, others with the school they attended. There are other people who just want to connect worldwide with everyone who likes Russian literature. Some do both. Basically, every individual has different interests. It is everyone’s choice to indicate what is more important to him. My ‘country’ might be the supporter’s club of Juventus Turin, whatever nationality the other supporters have. Why should I feel connected with someone only because he is living in the same city or region as I do? Why should I feel happy to see a compatriot while on holiday in Turkey, when the Turkish guy at the next table might be far more interesting to talk to? I am not saying it doesn’t matter where you come from or what your religion is, but it is up to every individual to give to these elements the weight he or she thinks they deserve in his or her identity. That is the biggest mistake of nationalism. Nationalists have their nation at the top of their identity list. And not only do they expect all their compatriots to make the same choice, they even think they can speak in the name of all of them. Not in my name. It doesn’t really matter where you come from, but it does matter where you go to. It’s not your origin but your future that counts, the decisions you make, the identity you choose, the principles you stand for.
The Cosmopolitan Republic of Belgium In 2000 the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas published ‘The post-national constellation” in which he pleas for a separation between republicanism and nationalism. Along the principles of Immanuel Kant he believes that the faith of the nation state has come to an end (it brought us nothing other than disaster) and that it is time to work on a cosmopolitan defense of human rights. For Habermas nationalism is exactly what is explained in the paragraphs above while republicanism is the package of principles like fundamental liberties and human rights. I think he is right. It is time to get rid of these nationalistic lies, these invented heroes and glorious battles, this discourse of one language, one territory, one destiny. Everyone should be able to choose his or her own destiny. It doesn’t matter where we were born, but how we want to live and the principles we want to defend, wherever we happen to be in the world. Maybe we need a second ‘Belgian revolution’. A revolution based on principles not on invented stories and myths. However, we don’t need a Belgian revolution based on territory, but based on people. I would like to have a passport of a new republic, worldwide, where not the past but the future counts, not where you come from but where you want to go to. A republic where everybody is welcome as long as you support the rights of every individual. Where every home of every citizen is an embassy of the republic. With many languages, many cultures, many families. In short, a Cosmopolitan Republic of Belgium.
Koert Debeuf Cairo, 2012
Border
by Helmut Smits
IN
IDENTITY LAND THE HORIZON IS THE BORDER
PLAYING AS ONE
ALL NATIONAL ANTHEMS ARE
IN
IDENTITY LAND
ANTHEM
by The Doublethink Project
ANYTIME everywhere y ou go ANYWHERE
STAMP YOUR PASSPORT
IN
IDENTITY LAND
STAMP
by Helmut Smits with Yuri Veerman
A SOUVEN IR
E V E RY T H I N G CAN BE
IN
IDENTITY LAND
SOUVENIR
by Jessica Gysel
IDENTITY LAND IN
RADIO
by Jessica Gysel with Jurian Strik/KesselsKramer
compressed in an ongoing radioshow
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Now togo this day ... 3) Ifyou there is a need for of Chinese nationality, is citizenship very simple, justbegorestored to the Canadian Consulate to make to nationality, is very just to the Canadian Consulate to make a statement to give up Canadian can Chinese identity according that some had nothing to do. citizenship Now to thiscan day ...restored 3) If there is a need for restoration oftoChinese nationality, juststyle go toofthe Consulatefeel to make a statement to give up Canadian Chinese identity - according the but Nationality Law.isa•very Not simple, upset the theCanadian quasi-labile the Nationality Law. • Canadian Not upset the style ofbe thebe quasi-labile ABG feel most miserable life, would upset big question for me, “What doquasi-labile they seeABG when looking a statement to give up citizenship can restored Chinese identity according to the Nationality Law. • Not upset the style of the ABG feel most miserable butarea?” would And upsetI was a big question for do foreigners they see when looking at a.. The mapname of this“Indonesia” area?” Andwas I was confronted the fact that foreigners at amiserable map life, of this confronted withme, the“What fact“What that were notlooking seen. officially used with to refer to national identity in most life, but would upset a big question for me, do they see when at a map of this area?” And I was confronted with the fact that foreigners were not ..Youth The name “Indonesia” officially used to hire, referwhether to national in the 1928 Youth Pledge. • Whether youhad hadbecause to go and hire, whether went the seen. 1928 Pledge. • “Indonesia” Whetherwas youwas had to go and you identity wentidentity because you were persecuted, whether you you didhire, not whether feelyou safe. You were not seen. .. The name officially used to refer to national in the 1928 Youth Pledge. • Whether you had to go and you went because were you had because you did safe.place, You can come out the house because they wereidentity, forced adopt to exileanother to another place, bad canyou come outpersecuted, of the housewhether because they were to you exilenot tofeel another bad lifecome can of cause went, you changed nationality but bad because persecuted, whether youadopt had forced because did not feelremain safe. You can out of you thewoman house because theyforwere forcedthrive. to exile toare another place, life can causeyou youwere went, you changed identity, another nationality but Haitian guy and black who fought freedom We acontinue people who remain Haitian guy and black woman who fought for freedom thrive. We are a people who make history, history plot path to many people. We must to who can cause youplot went, you changed identity, adopt another to nationality but remainallow Haitian guy and black woman who fought for freedom thrive. We are athepeople makelife history, history path to many people. We must continue provide examples, our brothers and sister live in safe. • More than half of the life of provide examples, allow our brothers and sister live in safe. • More than half of the life of the Basque Country, but still you do not have sentimenturik nationality. make history,but history you plotdo path tohave many people. Wenationality. must continue to provide examples, allow brothers and sister livethe in farther safe. • More than half of the life of the Basque Country, not sentimenturik you? • I’m thinking aboutour itI will from time toFrench time, and I feel from that feeling. put Would you? • still I’m thinking about ithave from time to time, nationality. and theWould farther I feel from that feeling. put mytime identity document, but I dofrom not feel it, orI will Basque, Basque Country, but still you do not sentimenturik Would you? • I’m thinking about it from to time, and the farther I feel that feeling. I will my French identity document, but I do not feel it, or Basque, Spanish or even. This is my reality. This does not mean that our problems are not of great interest to the TL, put Spanish or even.document, This is my but reality. This doesit,not mean thatSpanish our problems are not of great interest to the TL, but especially in the field of culture. • Perhaps, Itocan my French identity I do not feel or Basque, or even. This is my reality. This does not mean that our problems are not of great interest the TL, but especially thePyrenees field of culture. • Perhaps, candays say that the Pyrenees ... Interestingly, a few days in France by a French lives in the Basque say thatinthe ...ofInterestingly, a Ifew in France byPyrenees a French composer who lives in days the Basque Country wascomposer thecomposer soundwho that thelives band won theCountry award, but especially in the field culture. • Perhaps, I can say that the ... Interestingly, a few in France by a French who in the Basque Country was thethe sound that the band the thePiriniotakoa. film represents I said, a real goat. Piriniotakoa. I, too, I think the French independence of theand country thethe French represents ...band Iwon said, a award, real goat. • I, ...too, the of the• country and the injerentziarik vetoand rights, was thefilm sound that the the award, film represents ...Itothink I said, a independence real goat. I, too, I think the independence of the thelanguage French injerentziarik and veto rights, thewon language wouldthe be an easier pathwould normalization. ThisPiriniotakoa. is....ofSurvive, course, •but would like to emphasize .... identity Survive, butcountry also, in and mytoopinion, the would be an easier path to normalization. This is of course, like to emphasize also, in my opinion, the will be bound follow as injerentziarik and veto rights, the language would be an easier path to normalization. This is of course, would like to emphasize .... Survive, but also, in my opinion, the identity will be bound tolong follow astowell, stillthe haslevels a long way to reachand theCastilian. levels of So, availability and Castilian. So, a little bit ... (Sorry so extended). Sincerely. • That well, still has a way reach of availability a little bit ... (Sorry so extended). Sincerely. • That the process can be continidentity will be bound to follow as well, still has a long way to reach the levels of availability and Castilian. So, a little bit ... (Sorry so extended). Sincerely. • That the process be continued. like I need...aLinguistic clarification. Linguistic - ofonly which I was the onlythat administration need to be, that the ‘identity’ of politics ued.can Looks like I needLooks a clarification. state...- of Istate wasstate the administration need to be, that that that the ‘identity’ of politics become. process can be continued. Looks like I ..... need a clarification. ...which Linguistic - ofof which I was the only administration need to be, that thehas ‘identity’ of politics hasthe become. Bal Thackeray Raj Thackeray When the world will become a nation all its citizens are becoming blind to the nationality would automatically Bal Thackeray - Raj Thackeray ..... When..... theWhen worldthe willworld become abecome nation a ofnation all its of citizens are becoming blind to the nationality would automatically has become. Bal Thackeray Raj Thackeray will all its citizens are becoming blind to the nationality would automatically disappear. “How big“How thing?big • Espanhóis, Italian, African, judeus, German, Lebanese,Lebanese, Armenians, japoneses, Korean and many other nationalities that ajudaram disappear. thing? • Espanhóis, Italian, African, judeus, German, Armenians, japoneses, Korean nationalities that disappear. “Howdiverse big thing? •mixed, Espanhóis, Italian, African, judeus, German, Lebanese, Armenians, japoneses, Korean and and manymany otherother nationalities that ajudaram build OURajudaram identity and I feel a little um Tudo • Some people say that nationality is only a symbol, no practical significance. I find this very builddiverse OUR identity diverse and mixed, I Tudo feel a• little umpeople Tudo •say Some people say that nationality is no only a symbol, no practical signifibuild OUR identity and mixed, I feel a little um Some that nationality is only a symbol, practical significance. I find this very strange, because thinkthis in very addition to a because nationality other than, there isa nothing moreother important thingsistonothing prove more you belong, this things is the to legal significance cance. I Ifind strange, I think inother addition to nationality than, there important prove you bestrange, because I think in addition to a nationality than, there is nothing more important things to prove you belong, this is the legal significance thanup thelong, other’s will have more weak, and even cultural, others may also think youand areeven • Before theyothers have not citizenship, at thisidentity is the legal significance thanup theand other’s will havemay more weak, mayacquired also think you are •looking Before thanup the other’s identity will have weak, evenidentity cultural, others also think you •cultural, Before they not acquired citizenship, looking at a lot of discussion of not howacquired to retain dualmore citizenship that some had nothing to do. Now to thisdual dayare ... 3) If there is some a have need fornothing restoration ofNow Chinese they have citizenship, looking at a lot of discussion of how to retain citizenship that had to do. to a lot of discussion of howjusttogo retain dual citizenship that some had nothing to do.to Now toup thisCanadian day ... 3)citizenship If there is can a need restored for restoration of Chinese nationality, is very simple, Canadian Consulate to make a statement give this day ... 3)simple, If therejust istogo a the need forCanadian restoration of Chinese nationality, is very simple, justCanadian go to thecitizenship Canadian be Consulate toChinese make a nationality, is very to the Consulate to make a statement to give up can be restored Chinese identity - according totothe Nationality Law.citizenship • Not upset thebestyle of theChinese quasi-labile ABG feel most to miserable life, but Law. would upset a big statement give up Canadian can restored identity according the Nationality • Not upset the identityfor - according todo thethey Nationality • Notatupset theofstyle of the quasi-labile ABG feel most miserable life, but wouldwere upset question me, “What see ABG whenLaw. looking a map thisbut area?” And I was confronted with the that foreigners nota big style of the quasi-labile feel most miserable life, would upset aI was big question forwith me,fact “What do they see when question for me, “What do they see when looking at a map of this area?” And confronted the fact that foreigners were seen. .. The name “Indonesia” officially used to refer to national identity in that the 1928 Youthwere Pledge. Whether had to go not looking at“Indonesia” a map was of this area?” Andused I was confronted with theidentity fact foreigners not •seen. .. Theyou name seen. .. The name was officially to refer to national in the 1928 Youth Pledge. • Whether you had and hire, whether you went because you were persecuted, whether you had because you did not feel safe. Youyou canhad come out to go “Indonesia” was officially used towere referpersecuted, to national identity in the 1928 Youth Pledge. • Whether tocome and hire, whether you went because you whether you had because you did not feel safe. You can out of the house because they whether were forced to exile to another place,persecuted, bad life can cause you you had went,because you changed identity, go because and hire, you went because you were whether you did notidentity, of the house they were forced to exile to another place, bad life can cause you went, you changed adopt another feel nationality butcan remain Haitian and black woman who fought fortofreedom We are a safe. You outHaitian of guy the house because they were forced exile to thrive. another place, adopt another nationality butcome remain guy and blackWe woman who fought for freedom thrive. We are a people who make history, history plot path to many people. must continue to provide examples, allow can cause youplot went, you identity, adopt continue another to nationality but people who bad makelife history, history path to changed many people. provide our brothers and sister liveHaitian in safe.guy • More than half of the lifeWe of must thefor Basque Country, but examples, still you doallow remain and black woman who fought freedom thrive. our and sister nationality. live in safe. Would • Moreyou? than •half of the life of the Basque Country, not brothers have sentimenturik I’m thinking about it from time to time,but andstill you do We arenationality. a people who make history, history plot path to time not have sentimenturik Would you? • I’m thinking about it from to time, and the farther I feel from that feeling. I will put my French identity document, but I do many people.I We must continue to the farther I feel from that feeling. will put my French identity document, but I do not feel it, or Basque, Spanish or even. This is my reality. This does not not mean feel it,that or Basque, Spanish even. This is interest my reality. our problems areornot of great to This does not mean that our problems are not of great interest to the TL, but especially in the field the TL, but especially in the field
personal stories about identity are
things
thousand
a
A BUCKET IS
IN
IDENTITY LAND
BUCKET
by Bart Eysink Smeets/KesselsKramer
bathtub
bathtub
FIRE EXTINGUISHER
fire extinguisher
BIN
VASE
vase
GIFT
PROJECTILE
ANTS’ NEST
FRIEND
BOAT
CLOCHE
TABLE
CEILING LAMP
BACKPACK
BUCKET
projectile
STOOL
gift stool
HELMET
ASHTRAY
helmet
bin
DRUM
ashtray
IN IN
IDENTITY LAND EVERY EACHPLAYER PLAYERHAS AN INDIVIDUAL SHIRT ON. IS UNIQUE
TEAM
by Hans van der Meer
VEHICLE
by Thomas Lommée
IDENTITY LAND IN
a taxi, is a pick-up truck, is a vendor, is a delivery van, is an emergency assistance vehicle, IS A CAR, IS A ...
A CAR IS
MANY LANGUAGES
ONE LANGUAGE IS
IN
IDENTITY LAND
LANGUAGE
by Karel De Mulder and Cecilia Azcarate Isturiz A common language emerges as people mix a multitude of languages.
IDENTITY LAND IN
COIN
by Helmut Smits
the currency
you can identify yourself in
SEE-THROUGH
THE FLAG IS
IN
IDENTITY LAND
FLAG
by Edith Dekyndt
FREEDOM
by Anthony Burrill A multitude of contradictory opinions. There is no need for consensus.
500 mm x 350 mm OF
IDENTITY LAND Build a global post-national nation of world citizens. Donote a square metre at www.identityland.net