What can be considered an artistic act? What are the criteria and who determines it?

In 2013, O-JEJ collective took part in Slovenian triennial of contemporary art with the project “Welcome to paradise”. They used the lawn in front of the MSUM (National Museum of Contemporary Art in Ljubljana) and transformed it into an urban garden. After the triennial ended, the garden remained in place for another three years, with occasional workshops held there. In spring 2016, the head of MSUM decided to cover the lawn with a new roll of pre-grown grass, giving it a polished, artificial look. I decided to plant garden flowers into the freshly covered lawn, playfully taking the term live art and sustaining the usability of the space. The flowers were planted during the night and were removed by the institution by the following morning.

In 2017, the work was exhibited in ŠKUC gallery in Ljubljana as a video documentation of the intervention. Prior to the opening of the exhibition, the intervention was repeated on the lawn of MSUM. The museum staff removed the flowers by the morning. In this way, an absurd situation happened: the same work enjoyed the status of a work of art in a gallery, while in public space, it was discarded without consideration. Walking distance between MSUM and ŠKUC gallery is less than 2km.