Today, on June 8, 2017, Ante Perković would have celebrated his 44th birthday. We started and almost finished the project CYANKALI §218 with Ante as author and performer. On June 11, 2017, we are closing the project with a dedication to him. A musical number from the performance CYANKALI §218, set to music by Ante, has been published on the website cijankalij.montazstroj.hr. It will be performed by Miki Solus at the event LOVE & ECENOMY to remind us of the kind of freedom that Ante quietly but persistently fought for in the field of art and media.
Ante participated in this project because he believed that the fight for women’s reproductive rights held extreme importance. If we fail to protect women’s right to control over their own bodies and life, he said, freedom of speech will be next, and there will be no one left to fight for it.
The musical number “Christian Schulze” tells the story of a stoker who, having lost his job, began to make a living “on the other side of the law.” Otherwise an honest man and a father to five children, he sank deeper and deeper until finally he became – a criminal. His only moments of happiness and wellbeing came right before his execution: it was the first time in his life that he ate until he was full. This musical number with text by Friedrich Wolf points to the central ethical dilemma explored in CYANKALI §218 – Can we talk about the freedom of moral decision-making of someone whose social position leaves them no choice? This is how Friedrich Wolf points to the illegitimacy of the laws that turn poor workers into criminals, whether by violating the abortion ban or by stealing a bite of bread.
