Six stories of erasure are shared in this thought-provoking film.
In 1991 when Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia, the ‘Aliens Act’ was used to erase 25,671 people from permanent resident status in Slovenia. They had their existing rights arbitrarily withdrawn – with many of them losing their jobs, homes and healthcare, while others were forced to leave Slovenia altogether.
The Erased fought back. They took their case to court where it was ruled that the act of erasure was unconstitutional and their rights should be restored.
Through this collaborative film Rogalska creates the space for the Erased to speak of these painful times as together they create a ‘national’ costume for themselves, reflecting on their experiences of non-existence and strategies of resilience.
Commissioned and produced by City of Women for 25th International Festival of Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Curated by osborn&møllerCo-produced by: MGLC – International Centre of Graphic Arts, Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Kunstencentrum Vooruit.
