DERO (ROmanian DEtergent) is one of the few Romanian communist era products which has survived through out the economic transition. Its
original recipe and presentation have been altered to render it marketable. Aggressively promoted, it became a local commercial advertising hero, symbol of the rebirth of a familiar image through its totally reinvented
content. Its name was retained because of its local resonance. Its content is nowadays an alien expression of consumerism (the state-owned DERO factory was sold to Unilever). DERO is seen as a paradigm (and a paradox) of the present day Romanian identity crisis. Is consumerism organically rejected by a traditionalist society emerging from an era of cultural
isolation and strict upholding of its tradition or is it unconditionally
embraced? In an effort of formal self-purification, devoid of any
traditionalist “esthetical correctness,” the artist avoids any value
judgements and allows himself to comment, question and self-question in his quest for a solution to this identity dilemma. The answer might also yield the key to the artist's own identity and role in the society to which he belongs.


Selected solo exhibitions: 2002: Cupola, Iasi.
Selected group exhibitions: 2002: Efori, Bucharest; 2001: Frontiera, Righton, Manchester; Periferic Festival, Turkish Bath, Iasi; H8fulworld (web performance), Maribor, Slovenia; Art beats Art, Korona, Vrsac, Yugoslavia; 2000: Periferic Festival, Turkish Bath, Iasi.