ALLES OK

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The project consists of ten horizontal pieces measuring 45×35 cm, printed using silk screen technology. Each piece is printed in three colors.

The stories and subjects depicted in the pictures are inspired by rumors and news that people discuss on the internet. In today's world, the internet is the most powerful media platform—a primary means of communication, a source of information, opinions, mistakes, and entertainment.

Many news articles and facts posted on the internet require verification, and a significant portion of them are prone to misinterpretation or errors. The author employs the internet as a metaphor for a medieval fair or a bustling square, where people gather to discuss news. It is also a place for trade, folk theater, clown performances, and amusement. This bustling square, the internet, resembles a medieval setting where people can be deceived, robbed, or offended. Anonymity adds a sense of carnival to the internet, reminiscent of the main form of entertainment in the past. The carnival atmosphere grants more freedom for people to express their opinions more openly and engage in more passionate debates than they would in real life. The author perceives the internet as a playful environment where mistakes can be mistaken for truth, fabricated stories can be told, and people reveal themselves by expressing their opinions.

For this project, the author has chosen the ten most popular subjects discussed on the internet. Most of these topics are political as they concern a large number of people, and discussions around these topics often revolve around political issues. These subjects are complex and require a broad range of knowledge to analyze and discuss.

The author's interest lies in the opinions of internet users who engage in discussions about news and phenomena on the internet, relying on information obtained from the internet itself. This reliance on the internet gives rise to mistakes, misunderstandings, and arguments.

The subjects depicted in the project are war, politics, corruption, ecology, data security, communication, robotization, depression, media, and super bacteria.

The project is titled "Alles Ok" or "Everything Ok." The word "Ok" is highly international, lacking a precise origin but having various interpretations. For instance, it can be understood as "Oll Korrect" (a playful rendition in broken English), "ohne Korrektur" (meaning "without correction" in German), "0 killed" (referring to war reports), and more. Alongside the positive news and entertainment, the internet also features a considerable amount of bad news. Unfortunately, bad news tends to dominate as it garners more attention. Despite this, the author prefers to focus on good news, hence the name of the project, "Alles Ok."

The text accompanying the pictures consists of famous quotations or quotes from renowned individuals that were found on the internet. These quotations fall within the genre of internet memes and are often presented as images for sharing on social networks. They serve as expressions of the feelings or ideas of internet users. Sometimes they appear exaggerated, possess multiple interpretations, or lack clarity. This can be attributed to the fact that quotations are frequently taken out of context. The author regards these quotations as akin to "folk wisdom" sheets present in folk cultures. The play of meanings and interpretations associated with them serves as one of the artistic elements of the project.

The idea for the project originated from the art of Russian Lubok prints. Lubok refers to a folk culture that thrived in Russia from the 18th to the 19th centuries, encompassing theater, literature, and graphic art. Lubok prints, made on inexpensive materials like paper and using lime tree woodblocks, depict scenes from everyday life, folk sayings, practical advice, and global news. The sole purpose of lubok prints is to entertain. Created by anonymous, self-taught artists with a spontaneous approach to form and coloring, lubok prints represent a unique form of graphic art.

Lubok prints always feature a combination of text and pictures, expressing folk beliefs, jokes, and wisdom. They serve as an example of an art form that developed its own language. Drawing on mistakes, misunderstandings, and hyperbole, they are understandable to a broad audience of urban and rural dwellers. The artistic approach of lubok is a spontaneous mutation resulting from the synthesis and distortion of existing art forms, a process that assimilated ideas from the environment and transformed them into a comprehensible form for the people. By adopting subjects from the socially higher official culture, lubok culture created a unique form of expression and humor based on the discrepancy between the source and its interpretation.

The decision to draw inspiration from lubok prints in creating the project "Alles Ok" stems from the mocking and carnival-like nature of lubok, which reflects reality through humor and the aesthetics of misunderstanding and exaggeration. This principle encapsulates the transformation of meanings and facts that occur in contemporary culture.

The artistic objective of the project is to create a message through the juxtaposition of text and images, prompting the viewer to read beyond the written words and see beyond the drawn illustrations.

„Es gibt nichts stilleres als eine geladene Kanone“
“There is nothing queiter than a charged weapon”

Heinrich Heine

"Politik ist die Kunst des Möglichen"
"Politics is the art of the possible"
Otto von Bismarck

“If luxury was ugly it would not be at all the feast of gods”
Aristippus

“Some prayed for help. Others wished for death.
But still more imagined that there were no gods left
and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness”
Pliny the Younger (61–113 AD), ancient Rome writer

“Even if you are not doing anything wrong, you are being watched and recorded”
Edward Snowden

"Das größte Problem mit der Kommunikation ist die Illusion, sie sei gelungen"
George Bernard Shaw
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place"
George Bernard Shaw