“It’s Not Worth (Even) a Frostbitten Onion.”
It is a Romanian idiom “A nu face nici cât o ceapă degerată” which means it’s worth nothing.
After a long absence, struggling to create art, I picked up an old project and started a new one. I understood that ideas come back again and again, obsessively, until I release them into the world, from a vision, in an artistic form. But that’s not what I want to tell you about now, because these projects were interrupted, suddenly and unexpectedly, by an image, which, I know, will not give me peace of mind.
I am stuck on the image. Full image of the mockery. Of Romania. What has Romania become? An image, which comes back again and again, like a sad obsessive refrain.
The other day I was shocked when I went to a hypermarket and noticed that the price of onion reached 7 lei (that is 1,50 euros), in comparison with the time when the world was more or less normal, the cost of onion was about 0,30 euros. I can’t help but wonder how we got here, or how we allowed this situation, when not long ago, Rich Romania, the leader in the agricultural industry, produced so much that it could have fed an entire Europe, insatiable, by its nature.
I can’t help but feel outraged, betrayed, scammed, robbed, lied to, bewildered, enslaved, sad… hungry. Again.
After a few days, I’m creating a new conceptual photography series in my studio, and I hear people on the radio outraged that the price of onion has reached 13 lei (2,63 euros) and it is all imported from overseas countries. Is it like that outside? (The Romanian propaganda dream was to create a country like any other outside country but Romania, meaning that we dreamed of Romania becoming like the other civilized countries). Why do we complain If we wanted this so badly?!
Ah, I forgot to mention that what they put on the shelves and ask 13 lei (2,63 euros) for it, it’s anything but onion!
In conclusion, I want to invite you to take part in my journey of creating my new conceptual fine art project, while we give all our resources to others, and die of hunger. What did we expect?! We were warned that we will own nothing and die of cold and hunger!
At least, we will create beautiful art!
All Rights Reserved 2023 DACIANA LIPAI © www.thephotopoetrybook.com – It’s Not Worth a Frostbitten Onion
Feel free to share this with your art-lover friends or with anyone who can use a nice word. Leave a comment or drop me a line. I would love to hear from you.
Interested in adding a fine art photopoem to your collection? You can check out more about my fine art prints here.
Lots of love, Daciana
