The interactive project “Moldavians Everywhere” is a large-scale performative intervention within the public sphere, where the monumental architecture of government buildings serves as a backdrop for the deconstruction of the “facade” of contemporary Moldovan society.

At the heart of the work lies an investigation into the tragedy of mass emigration a process that exists not merely as an economic shift, but as a profound humanitarian catastrophe.

The project exposes the painful rupture between the official “beautiful illusion” of independence and the freedom of a “new society,” and the harsh reality of “hidden oppression” faced by Moldovan citizens displaced into the realm of low-skilled labor abroad. In this environment, an individual’s intellectual and cultural potential is nullified, reducing their life to a “stripped-down simulacrum” an existence devoid of authentic dignity.

The central element of the intervention is a large-scale photographic stand functioning as a screen that bifurcates the visible from the essential. The exterior of this object offers the viewer a sterile, idealized image, while its internal structure unmasks divergent meanings.

Crucially, the color scheme a combination of red and green on the interior of this “facade” serves as a direct visual signifier of the flag of the Moldavian SSR. This historical reference highlights the dramatic gap between the region’s past industrial-agrarian development and its current state, where the disintegration of former mechanisms has led to social collisions and mass exodus.

The performative action engages random passersby, transforming them from passive observers into co-conspirators in a social experiment.

Simultaneously, the viewer is invited to potentially project themselves into the image of the “happy migrant” against the backdrop of one of the nation’s primary symbols, where according to official statistics hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens live and work.

Utilizing simple domestic markers, such as a repainted standard Soviet kitchen stool, the viewer is encouraged to make an effort: to rise above the mundane and peer into the apertures of the stands or occupy the “cut-out” spaces of the figures. In this moment, the wall between the state’s ceremonial facade and the personal tragedy of the “little man” collapses.

The project asserts that while the global community debates geopolitical strategies, an irreparable tragedy occurs behind the billboards and official slogans: the fundamental units of society are being destroyed. The project  “Moldavians Everywhere” transforms the city square into a mirror, reflecting the true face of society hidden beneath the veil of political marketing.

2008 “Intervention 3”, “Oberliht”, Chisinau (MD)

The project was implemented  as an interactive performative intervention within the urban public sphere.

Special thanks to:

Ruxanda Stefanov and Vladimir Us