It is now a matter of learning hope

It is now a matter of learning hope presents artist Ileana Faur learning and rehearsing fragments of written utopian theories, including Ernst Bloch, Constant Nieuwenhuys, Thomas More, Karl Marx and Vilem Flusser, set against the backdrop of Morii Island, one of many failed utopian architectural projects that were never finished by Nicolae Ceausescu, ex- dictator of Romania (HD, 2013/14). Description: The film presents a performance wherein the artist (Ileana Faur) is consistently learning and rehearsing how to deliver fragments of written utopian theories. The selected writings are taken from Ernst Bloch, Constant Nieuwenhuys, Thomas More, Karl Marx and Vilem Flusser. The cyclical repetition of complex and imaginative texts takes place against the backdrop of Morii Island, one of many architectural projects that were never finished by Nicolae Ceausescu (ex- dictator of Romania). The island was initially built for the purpose of creating an idealised recreational park in the middle of a functional lake in Bucharest. Arguably, this unfinished project represents the detritus of failed utopian architecture. In contrast to the desolate and somewhat ambiguous appearance of Morii Island, through constantly rehearsing and re-projecting political ideas, the film seeks to address the core issue of: how do we establish hopeful socio-political realities within the context of such harsh social conditions? Ultimately, is it now a matter of learning hope?