Throughout our conscious life, we are all searching for the very place, forming our identity, building relationships and giving meaning to spaces that surround us. These actions are part of a system of choices constructed on the basis of subjective feelings: security, values, understanding of personality and of the world we live in. However, when choices are dictated by external conditions in which drastic decisions have to be made quickly, they can lead to the destruction of the identity one has been building throughout the entire life.

When tectonic shifts in global historical processes occur, we find ourselves “forced to act”. We have to suddenly rebuild our lives, rethink our own ideas with regard to ourselves and the rest of the world, and adapt to the new reality. Thus we are confronted with a paradox: in spite of all our apparent options, we in fact do not have a choice. And if we do accept this compromise, we shall become a mere shadow of our former selves.

The Zug zwang project is an attempt to capture the moment of encounter with the compulsion to act under the mask of choice. It is a sincere artistic statement — through direct testimony, memories and visual associations.