On Tuesday, November 10, 2009, at 16.00, exhibition number 14, the last from the Young Romanian Art series will be opened in the New Gallery of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Venice, Italy. The exhibition is entitled 'the end of folklore', and it is the collaborative project of Maxim Dumitras, Lucian Muntean and Cosmin Nasui.
Romania's accession to the European Union renders certain collective behaviors obsolete. One of these is the ritual of killing the pig in the countryside. The new norms regarding the slaying of animals stipulate that it should only take place within slaughterhouses.
The knife for slaying, the straw, the gas lamp, the reeds brush, the sausage maker - they don't have any meaning anymore and are on the verge of disappearing completely. Even so, the memories and activities connected to the slaying of pigs are still very important for the rural population.
The pig is a cultural item, almost an emblem of a cyclic celebration of life by the locals. However, the tales of famous butchers are now placed at the fringe of illegal activities.
Cosmin Nasui
