Landscape of Anxiety – 11 Critical Hotspots in R.N. Macedonia

The project “Landscape of anxiety” is the result of several months of research concerning the Republic of North Macedonia as one of the countries of the Western Balkans, representing the center of pollution in Europe, primarily due to outdated coal plants, cars, defective industries, as well as the energy poverty of the population. And a series of other factors that continuously pollute the air and water, endangering the overall biodiversity of the country, and causing negative impacts on the environment and the health of citizens.

The exhibition “Landscape of Anxiety – Eleven Critical Hotspots in the Republic of North Macedonia” is built by photographs of eleven hot spots located by professor Trajce Stafilov which refer to specific locations of active and closed industrial facilities that generate waste and pollute the environment with heavy metals. The eleven hot spots are ranked according to the danger of these hot spots, and the criteria are the amount of waste they generate, toxicity, how close the location is to a populated area, the concentration of hazardous chemicals in the waste, what form it is in, and other factors.

Within the framework of the exhibition Prof. Dr. Trajche Stafilov and Tihomir Topuzovski will promote the publication of the book “Landscape of Anxiety: Culture and Art for the Future Coexistence With Environmental Crises and Climate Change”.

The photos are by Denis Saraginovski and the entire event was produced in collaboration with the curator Ivana Vaseva. The Open Society Foundation – Macedonia, supports the project.