| JUAN KASARI ME MYSELF AND I-THE GATED COMMUNITY Mixed media - video installation 17.9.2008 - 5.10.2008 The exhibition deals with a half-documentary microcosmos, a closed community, where people live their own private and sheltered life outside society. The community of upper middle class people interests me as a subject of artistic study. The exhibition takes a stand on social inequality, but its critics does not point on anyone. Despite the assumingly very critical starting point I am more interested in a documentary and establishing approach rather than direct criticism. Increasing inequality easily brings out our fear towards other people. One example of this is the increasing demand of apparent security and surveillance systems and safety services in our society. The exhibition is the second part of a five-part exhibition series, which first part ”Real White Panthers Do Crocket” was exhibited at MUU gallery in Helsinki, Finland November 2007. Me, Myself and I - The Gated Community consists of several video installations and mixed media works. ”Real estate developers build gated communities to appeal to buyers desire for security and prestige. Physical walls, in some cases fortified and surveiled, give the inhabitants a sense of security. Some sociologists have criticized the creation of these types of walls as fortressing and have compared them to historical fortifications. Another criticism is that gated communities offer a false sense of security. Some studies indicate that safety in gated communities may be more illusion than reality, showing that gated communities have no less crime than non-gated neighborhoods.” Blakely, E.J., and M.G. Snyder (1998), "Separate places: Crime and security in gated communities” in: M. Felson and R.B. Peiser (eds.), Reducing crime through real estate development and management, pp. 53-70. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute.
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