One ticket, please!

In spring 2024, Institute Gajst started working on an allegorical drawing with Ciril Horjak, an award-winning Slovenian comic book artist, illustrator and teacher. What was first only a small part of a larger project for the European elections, quickly took on a life of its own. T-shirts were made and sold out, critics were commenting on the boldness of caricatures. The illustration was placed on the cover of the Slovenian daily Večer just a day before the elections. The cover title? “One ticket for the farris wheel of democracy, please!”. Thank you, we enjoyed the ride. The liberal world did not. 

In less than a year, the political landscape changed dramatically. We witnessed the re-election of Donald Trump, the Russian counteroffensive, Elon Musk in the White House, far-right sweeping the polls in Germany, Serbian students protesting corruption, Xi Jinping witholding economic pressures and a genocide in Gaza. What was supposed to be the continuation of the end of history – the survival of liberal democracy – turned out to be another episode of its ongoing downfall. We wasted no time in reaching out to Ciril to produce the allegory of the witnessed change. The authoritarian ticket was published on the 80^th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe. The timing a meaningful paradox in itself.

The two ferris wheels, together with their anti-systemic protagonists – placed from left to right – present the political allegory of our divided (international) society. In the middle, an electoral booth is to be imagined. In solitude, waiting for the next customer. Be sure to place your trust wisely. Every encounter counts. A ticket? Sure, name, please… 

Institute Gajst
and
Ciril Horjak

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