The work of the NSK (Neue Slowenische Kunst) art collective, in existence since 1984, forms a complex set of interpretations of Europe both during the Cold War period and in its echoes in the global context after 1989. NSK’s artistic “retroavantgarde” articulations of the processes of the deconstruction of the former Socialist Yugoslav State have a particular resonance. Slovenia, the art group’s base, proclaimed its independence from the Yugoslav federation in the early 1990s, before the violent Yugoslav wars—Europe’s deadliest conflict since WWII—began. In this complex historical moment, filled with war crimes, mass murder, and genocide NSK proclaimed its own State in Time, preceded by the 1992 NSK Embassy Moscow. As a sovereign state, albeit with no territorial claims, it introduced its own insignia: constitution, flag, embassies, consulates, stamps, and passports. The citizenry of the State has grown exponentially ever since, pursuing collectively and transnationally its ideals as “the first global state of the universe.” Here, the NSK member group
IRWIN sets up a temporary Passport Office that issues passports to everyone who identifies with the founding principles of equality, regardless of gender, nationality, religion, or any other status.
