180 seconds to remember (April 24, 2022 - Dec 24, 2023)

180 seconds to remember (April 24, 2022 – Dec 24, 2023)

“Art serves as a societal memory… and nobody says that memory needs to be a distant one”
180 seconds to remember – an instruction piece by Thierry Mortier, 2022.

Every month that the war continues in Ukraine,
on the 24th,
at 12:02 until 12:05
,
yellow and blue smoke candles are lit and smoke for 180 seconds.

“During the second month of the war in Ukraine, it became already clear that the news value of the war was already dropping. Both on the Belgian and the Swedish televised news the war did no longer feature as the first item on the list. Horrible images and stories still reached the viewers outside of Ukraine, but a sudden snowfall or bus accident was more news worthy. After more than a month the war isn’t new, it’s old.
The visual moment of silence, every 24th of the month, is there to stop for a little bit,… to take some time to let everything sink in for a moment… to make sure we don’t completely forget that people are dying, losing their homes, losing their country and not just in Ukraine, but also in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Nigeria, … countries at war that haven’t featured on our news in ages. All while we are safe and getting entertained in our fast-moving, attention-economy.”

[Update 2024] The performance stopped when the Israeli-Palestine War’s impact on the Russian-Ukrainian War’s media worthiness became undeniable. Today, Sept. 1st 2024, both wars are still going on. Russian-Ukrainian War: 2,6yrs. Israeli-Palestinian War: 10 months.
How much time do you spend to remind yourself of what’s going on?

2022

April 24, 2022, Kummelholmen, Stockholm.
May 24, 2022, Accelerator and Konstepidemin, Stockholm and Göteborg.
July 24, 2022 (midsommarafton), Perrongen, Katrineholm.
July 24, 2022, Björkö konstnod, Björkö.
August 24, 2022, Konsthall C, Stockholm.
Sept 24, 2022, Färgfabriken, Stockholm.
Oct 24, 2022, Weld (Observatorilunden), Stockholm.
Nov 24, 2022, Marabouparken, Stockholm.
Dec 24th (Julafton), 2022, Excercisplan – between Galleri Mejan and Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

2023

Jan 24th, 2023, De Nieuwe Organisatie, Kunsthal Gent, Ghent, Belgium.
Feb 24th, 2023, Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm.
Mar 24th, 2023, Frihamnstorget, Stockholm.
Apr 24th, 2023, S.M.A.K. Ghent, Belgium and Konstfack Stockholm.
May 24th, 2023, Platform Stockholm, Stockholm
June 24th, 2023,  59°15’51.7″N 13°07’11.1″E Sweden
July 24th, 2023,  Alma Löv Museum, Östra Ämtervik, Sweden
August 24th, 2023, Tartu Summer School of Semiotics, University of Tartu, Estonia
Sept 24th, 2023, Slipvillan, Stockholm
Oct 24th 2023, Norrtälje Konsthall, Norrtälje
(Dec 7th 2023, in front of Röda Sten, Göthenborg – 2 months into the Israeli-Palestine war)
Dec 24th 2023, Botkyrka forrest