Ana Čigon: Catlands Politics

Through humour and symbolism, the exhibition reveals the harsh reality of European migration policy, combining animation, video talks and critical reflection.

The exhibition Catlands Politics, which will run at the Customs House from 16 May 2025 to 21 June 2025, reveals the harsh reality of Europe's exclusive politics through the humorous cat-like symbolism of national flags, state institutions and signage. Filmmaker and visual artist Ana Čigon weaves elements of her latest animation, Catlands, and video interviews in which she discusses refugee policy with female experts. The project will also include workshops and guided tours.

Ana Čigon's multimedia installation Catlands Politics in Carinarnica is based on the animated satire Catlands, which highlights the tension between the declared ideals of unity and democracy of the European Union and its actual migration policy. The animation is also a story about Slovenia—its peripheral position within the EU and its role as a transit country on the Balkan refugee route. The contrast between the optimistic image of the European Union and the reality of its policies is expressed in the animation through the contrast between the visually idyllic, colourful world inhabited by the feline protagonists and the brutality of exclusion and expulsion that escalates in the final scenes.

The spatial installation in the Carinarnica is framed by a panel image of the European Commission building, which offers the opportunity to watch animation inserts and interviews with Aigul Haikimova, a member of the Infokolpa initiative, and Mirjam Milharčič Hladnik, a sociologist and scientific advisor at the Institute for Slovenian Emigration and Migration of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In the video interview, Čigon replaces the interviewees' questions with situational descriptions of the experience of the main protagonist of the Mirnjava animated film, subtly interweaving and enhancing the animation's narrative with real-life experiences and analytical insights. Thus, the interweaving of personal testimony, reflections on the migrant problem in Slovenia and Europe, combined with the satirical language of the animation Catlands Politics, results in a socio-political commentary that touches upon different perspectives on the current global migrant policy.

Contextually sensitive, with symbolic objects whose meaning is constructed through the animation, Čigon also intervenes in the environment of the Carinarnica in Nova Gorica, which is actually located at a border crossing—at a neuralgic point where, opposite the Slovenian cultural centre, repressive European migrant policy is also being implemented in practice.

Ana Čigon is an artist working mainly in video, film and performance. She is an academic painter, holds a Master of Arts in Video Art and a Master of Arts in Interface Cultures from Linz, Austria. Her projects deal with social and feminist themes, themes related to memorialisation and public monuments, discriminated social groups, LGBTQ+ issues and critiques of neoliberalism. Her work often incorporates elements of humour, irony and satire.

He mainly makes documentaries, but more recently also short animations. He occasionally makes videos for the theatre and participates in collective performance projects. She presents her work in solo and group exhibitions and film festivals in Slovenia and abroad. She has received several awards for her work in the field of visual and audiovisual production.

The exhibition will open on Friday, 16 May, at 19:00, followed by a banquet, and at 20:15 there will be an outdoor screening of the animated film Mačka med vrati (The Cat Between the Doors), in the garden next to the Carinarnica.