Underskog

“One way to a desert” emerged after several travel experiences and thoughts about my own way to cross territories, and when I sometimes ended up in mysterious places such as deserts.

I realized that deserts were living in people’s imagination mostly as a state of idea or dream, spread by stories, movies and fairytales. The desert remains perpetual emptiness and utopia.

But deserts are not empty, and inhabited by historical tribes, invisible roads, furtive animals and fabulous insects; but also military bases, nuclear tests, oil industries, refugee camps and so on.

The proposal is to set up a writing competition to win one way travel to one of the following desert:

Atacama-Chile, Gobi-Mongolia, Namib-Namibia, Sahara-Algeria and Thar-India.

The competition announcement will be spread on: travel, art and philosophy magazines, museums, galleries and social networks.

To participate, people will have to answer the question:

“Is constraint always the opposite of freedom?”

This question is inspired by Nietzsche’s philosophy, and specifically “The Wanderer and his Shadow”, which is a text introduced by a dialogue between a wanderer and his shadow, and approaching the notion of choice related to freedom.

DEADLINE: 20th of October 2013.

After collecting the texts, the jury composed by Jens Haaning and Stéphane Douady will choose 5 participants, who will be send to the 5 different deserts.

I will be in charge of the first way travel, (including a survival kit composed aswell by orientation tools).

The participants will have to envisage the way they want to come back. Of course in that case, there are multiple solutions, and of course the opportunity to escape from their previous life: it’s all a question of choice and freedom.

The project is held and supported by House of Foundation, Moss, and BOA, Oslo; Norway.

So for people interested by wining these trips, do not hesitate to contact me!

For more information:

www.onewaytoadesert.com

or contact:

Hanan Benammar