a  party-­‐approved  functional  art  project  by  TOTNOI

When  I  was  little,  society  told  me  I  have  two  sets  of  parents...

The  ones  nature  provided  me  to and the  ones  that  I  was  to  provide  for.

Named  Nicolae  and  Elena  Ceausescu,  my  state-­‐appointed  parents  were  of  the  firm  belief  that  

we,  their  subjects,  owed  them  our  lives.

Over  their  25  year  rule,  by  their  order,  flavor  was,  step  by  step,  removed  from  our  lives

in  an  effort  to  ensure  our  obedience.

Day  by  day,  everything  was  becoming  tasteless...  Insipidly  grey.

Coffee  became  a  sort  of  currency

Meat  meant  6+  hour  lines

Milk,  eggs  and  fruits  were  a  genuine  luxury.

They  did  everything  in  their  power  to  control  every  detail  of  our  existence.

They  failed.

Yet,  despite  their  deaths  and  despite  our  newfound  freedom,  our  hate  and  fear  of  them  never  went  away.

Why?

to  move  on  for  the  same  reason.Because  we  need  to  remember  in  order  to  avoid  repeating  our  history.

Because,  despite  the  death  of  our  oppressors,  we  never  managed  to  neutralize  them.

having  survived  them.

For  all  these  reasons,  our  small  artistic  collective  designed  its  own  way  of  making  amendswith  the  infamous  Ceausescu  couple.

These  are  the  [Ceausescu  Salt  &  Pepper  shakers].*trebuie  nume*

Part  of  a  functional  art  collection  determined  to  remedy  our  difficult  relationship  with  Romanian  history,  

the  [Ceausescu  Salt  &  Pepper  shakers]  are  designed  to  season  your  capitalist,  decadent  food  while,  at  the  same  time,  help  bring  a  smile  to  your  face.

Made  from  porcelain  and  given  a  matte  finish,   a  joyful  kind  of  retribution.  

But,  whatever  you  decide  to  do  with  your  Ceausescu  couple,  know  that  they  probably  deserve  it.

So  use  them  as  works  of  art,  shakers  or  even  break  them  if  that  makes  you  feel  any  better,

Technical  details:

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Height:  11  cm(him)  and  10  cm(her)Circumference:  9  cm(him)  and  8  cm(her)Material:  Limoges  porcelainCuring  temperature:  1240  °C

Available  colors:  white,  red  and  black

TOTNOI  is  an  artistic  collective  composed  of  Irina  Mihaiu

Georgiana  Cozma