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Tomáš Rafa

Tomáš Rafa has been investigating “new nationalisms” in Central Europe since 2009. He has been collecting visual material in the V4 countries on a long-term basis, focusing on a fundamental question: where is the boundary between patriotism and nationalism? Racism, xenophobia, protests, demonstrations and blockades are his topics. He presents the material as is, without declaring his attitude, an implicit criticism of media manipulation. One project involved working with Roma communities in eastern Slovakia, where the authorities have built a wall to separate the local residents from the Roma population they feel threatened by. These visible boundaries are in clear contradiction of the official respect for equality, so they are called “walls of sports,” officially to be used for recreation. This is why, in 2012-14, local authorities approved Rafa’s project to paint several such walls with “sports motifs.” Together with Roma youth, he created a project that became a sarcastic commentary on the hypocrisy of the authorities.