At the end of August 2001 Andreja informed me through our regular e-mail exchange that her new online project Distributive Justice had been experimentally put on the web. Personally, I found this a very interesting moment. It was certain that the new project would have to endure the difficult challenge of comparison with the globally successful project Closed Reality: Embryo, which is still very much alive on the web and continues to intrigue visitors with assumptions on the new variations of further development. Distributive Justice will indeed have the ungrateful role of having to convince even the hardest sceptics that the complexity, ingenuity and the overall quality of Embryo is not a lucky consequence of youthful enthusiasm and energy, but the creative standard which Andreja intends to keep.

Andreja Kulunčić's (b. 1968) life story fits into the turbulent period of the nineties. Having appeared out of "nowhere" in Zagreb in the mid-nineties, she managed to find her place with her projects on the proverbially closed arts scene in a short period of time. It soon turned out that she was one of the most original and strongest artists emerging during the last decade. It is certain, and many selections have already proved this, that Andreja is a Croatian visual arts name which shouldn't be left out from any exhibition prepared with a serious ambition of representing the relevant review of the nineties in Croatia. Her ever growing international presence, not only by way of global presentation in accordance with the media she employs, but also through numerous participations, awards and recognitions which she globally receives, all advise to Andreja as the one card we need in our still disorganised and undefined, but visibly more vivid and more successful strategy of breakthrough on the international arts scene. The selector of the next Venice Biennale should not have any doubts about this.

I personally had the honour to take part in the presentation of Embryo during October 1999, and six months later also in the summing up of the results of the first period of its existence (all taking place in the Miroslav Kraljević Gallery). When talking to Andreja I realised that Distributive Justice will in terms of methodology be on the track of Embryo, this implying the structuring of both the project and its aspect on the web. At the same time it was very much clear to me that the subject of social wealth distribution was far less attractive than the subtle play with the always intriguing sexuality that Embryo, if indirectly, was dealing with. This is very much so today when biological irreplaceability and physical contiguity of sexuality is seriously at danger by the development of science, sexual permissiveness, sexually transmitted diseases and indirect dimension of the cyber space. It is difficult to repeat this avalanche of contradictory impulses by which, through Embryo, already affected levels of human subconsicousness and morality are provoked and depths of subjectivity substantially touched. Andreja and her assistants made therefore an excellent move and dedicated Distributive Justice to the very objective, legally-economically-social aspects of reality. Of course, these two subjects are indeed very much related and authors are tempted by the challenge to join them eventually.

Having become familiar with the expertise, enthusiasm and thoughtfulness of Andreja's assistants during our cooperation on Embryo, I had no doubts about how the subject of the unfamiliar notion of the "distribution of justice" was going to be elaborated. However, being the person who is professionally and by nature more visually oriented, I was most interested to see how the subject was to be presented on the web. Many of colleagues of the Puritan orientation will consider this interest superficial, but luckily, the Distributive Justice team knows well that it is the design which "sells" the project. Only then, of course, when it organically comes out of it. Dark, silenced, black and red ambience with pulsating green/red pointers of interactivity and more or less realistic physiological pictures crossed by the text, corresponded splendidly with the intimate Embryo world. In accordance with its public dimension, "Distribution of Justice" develops in a neutrally lit virtual space, which is fully in tune with the abstract subject of the legislation regulating the distribution of goods. Counting with the unappealing dryness of the subject, the authors made use of tiny and cheerful icons, precise and clear navigation, and short, interesting and above all instructive texts written in simple font on the eye pleasing whitish background. Even the least interested laymen are quickly instructed, realising in the process how essential the distribution of justice is for their existence.

CLOSED REALITY - EMBRYO, 1999 - 2000 and present http://embryo.inet.hr multidisciplinary arts project; web site and installation authors: Andreja Kulunčić (visual artist & project manager), Trudy Lane (designer), Gabrijela Sabol (sociologist), Matija Puzar (programmer), Ivo Martinović (producer) and co-authors: Lidija Vuković, MSc (Molecular Biology), Tomislav Janović, MSc (philosopher and coordinator of the scientific part of the project), Romana Rozić (director of video documentation) and Momo Kuzmanović (catalogue editor)

The project Closed Reality - Embryo deals with genetic engineering and ethical problems it has produced, and is based on an online project which enables participants, regardless of where they are, to create a digital embryo. It takes two people, of any sex, to do this (it is even possible for one person to create an embryo if two browsers are used simultaneously). The project goes from the assumption that two complete strangers, coming from different parts of the world, would meet on the web. Considering that the input of personal details is arbitrary, it is also possible to take a fictitious identity. After the partners meet on the web and receive confirmation about this and the name of the person on the other side of the process, the interactive part of the creation can begin. For those who would enter the site without previous arrangement, there was also an option to make an appointment or a booking: six appointments were suggested on 30 September 2001. Each partner receives in turns one predetermined enquiry (there are altogether 12 enquiries, 6 for each partner) based on which, following a given table consisting of latest medical findings, he or she determines a child's various psychophysical characteristics. Apart from the physical appearance and mental ability, it is also possible to determine, for example, the speed of metabolism, the inclination towards diseases, the level of aggression... Every further enquiry brings out the listing of earlier choice results. The final enquiries refer to the area of genetic engineering: which secret genetic code would future "parents" wish to activate (the assumption is that we hold in ourselves a genetic database of all evolutionary phases) and which genetic mutation and why they wish to see performed on the embryo (under the assumption that science has completely mastered gene manipulation). The listing of the complete description of the selected embryo characteristics, for which participants share responsibility, is followed by one final enquiry: do they want this child to be born? If their answers are both positive, the embryo is stored in the embryo gallery (411 embryos stored until 30 September 2001), otherwise the pulsating red sign ABORT appears and all the data gets erased. (15 abortions until 30 September 2001). The embryo gallery becomes the material of further programme processing. Every embryo has a number, parents' names, the time of conception and the listing of all the selected characteristics. The gallery undergoes an automatic statistic analysis and comparison with real population expressed in numerical and graphical terms. The information is very interesting, even unexpected, and can be accessed even without prior participation in the "embryo creation game". Online segment includes a mailing list whose members receive information relating to issues of genetic engineering and a menu called "discussion" for the discussion of any intriguing aspects.

During the so-called active phase of the project (October 1999 - April 2000), the Embryo team gave a number of lectures in Croatia (the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Peace Studies and Women's Studies in Zagreb, MMC (Multimedia Centre) in Rijeka, "Otok" Gallery in Dubrovnik), with the participation of local scientists dealing with issues of genetic engineering. The lectures consisted of an introduction, the visitors working on the web, and a discussion. The similar model was used for the final exhibition at the Miroslav Kraljević Gallery, with four lectures given by leading Croatian experts, both supporters and opponents, from the fields of ethics, bioethics and genetic engineering on plants and animals. The lectures were always preceded by street distributions of leaflets and invitations for the participation in the project. At the final performance in Zagreb, interested participants and associations were offered to organise their own lecture, which would present their opinion on the issue of genetic engineering. Apart from the hardware support, the audience could use books and the collection of newspaper articles, and there was also a presentation of the documentary video material recorded in the course of all earlier project presentations. The same model was used for further project presentations in the country and abroad: Rome, Italy, 1999 (International Biennale of Young Artists of Europe and the Mediterranean); Rijeka (presentation of Croatian participants in the Biennale, Modern Gallery); Zagreb (M. Kraljević Gallery); Luzern, Switzerland, 2000 (19th International Film and New Media Festival VIPER 99); Athens, Greece (International festival Medi@terra 99 - 5th place); Zagreb (2nd award in the web competition of the Multimedia institute mi2); Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ambience 90, Collegium artisticum); Osnabruck, Germany (EMAF 2000); Rijeka (Ambience 90, Modern Gallery); Sao Paulo, Brasil (FILE); Split (International New Film and Video Festival, Grand Prix); Los Angeles (Flip, Brewery Project); New York, USA (The Alternative Museum, web exhibition); New Delhi, India (10th Triennale India, Grand Prix); Jaipur, India (workshop); Vienna, Austria (Double Life, Generali Foundation); Zagreb (To Tell a Story, Museum of Contemporary Art).

DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE, 2001 - 2003 http://www.distributive-justice.com multidisciplinary project; web site & installation author: Andreja Kulunčić (visual artist and project manager), Tomislav Janović (philosopher), Neven Petrović (philosopher), Gabrijela Sabol (sociologist), Ivo Martinović (photo & video), Matija Puzar (programmer), Dejan Janković (designer) and Trudy Lane (designer)

Simply speaking, the project deals with the issue of any person's share in the common good and the way it is distributed within variously conceived social systems or states. We said that the structure of the project was similar to that of Embryo. The project has now only been put on the web, but not in full. For the segments not yet uploaded (the text was written in September 2001) there is a notice saying when they will be in function: social-economic map of the world (November 2001), discussion (spring 2002), forum (exchange of thoughts on the project, October 2001); the bulletin and the talks will go online after the project starts developing in the real space. The following menu is active: theory (concise review of the theories on the social distribution of wealth and the questionnaire by means of which the users can reveal their distributive profile), questionnaire (defines the social profile of a participant and his/her opinion about the distribution of justice in his/her country), web portal (volunteers interested in the active participation in the work and the creation of the project may apply). For the public certainly the most attractive menu of games can now be used only through the game "Create your own society" where the participant can distribute money, freedom, social status, opportunities, public services and pleasures as he or she likes it. Statistic analysis of the received data has not yet been uploaded. This game will very soon be joined by one more game. The project will have its public manifestations, talks and round tables which will be video documented, and during which the audience will be assisted to complete forms and thus create a basis for statistic analyses. Sociologists believe that the online questionnaire is not objective enough for a scientifically valuable statistical analysis. Distributive Justice has been already presented at the exhibition Becomings in Tirana, Albania, and further presentations in Sydney, Priština, Ljubljana, Turin and Paris have also been agreed. Along with the global, web tour, the international tour is extremely important for this project. The team believes that it is exactly the local public in each of the countries which is to give this project the necessary tension and the accumulation of data to make it relevant even beyond the artistic sphere. The project will be presented to the Zagreb audience at an exhibition in the PM Gallery in May 2002.

The analysis of the description of both projects shows just how many modes of the contemporary artistic practice they unite. They are multimedia projects, multidisciplinary, socially engaged, they grow through their existence and involve public on the level higher than the mere interactivity (which, in fact, is a natural potential of Internet). If one looks at the Embryo's response with the public and media, it becomes obvious that the project has realised the ideal of the engaged art reaching the widest audience or people who are otherwise not regular visitors of the exhibition spaces. The same goes for media. Embryo reports went beyond the enclosure of culture sections and, apart from the expected segments of the press and publications dealing with digital media, often appeared in the unexpected segments of daily columns and scientific contributions. In the realisation of the project the team also dealt with the initial distrust felt by the élite scientific community for the treatment of "their topics" by other disciplines, and in particular their wonder at the fact that the lectures dealing with genetic engineering could take place in galleries or exhibition spaces. This tendency to join the disciplines in a synergy and overcome their artificial divisions is the best thing Andreja's work has inherited from the contemporary art practice. This also explains her wish to equally treat all participants as authors of the project. I regret to say that because of the lack of funds the video aspect of Embryo, which would be the strongest way to demonstrate its social implications, never really took hold. Numerous hours of documentary recordings are waiting to be edited, and subsequently transferred to the DVD medium.

Andreja developed multidisciplinary approach on the concurrently performed, less grand, but not less valuable projects.

City Walks was done together with Ivo Martinović, following the invitation by the art critic Iva R. Janković, for the exhibition Zadar Alive in August 2001. The exhibition successfully fulfilled the ambition to reveal, by using site-specific works at the height of the season, those levels of the city life, which do not match with the tourist image of the city. Andreja focused on its citizens. In the course of two walks around Zadar she talked to various people ranging from a returnee, an unemployed female worker to a computer designer, a boatman and a local hooligan. Each one of them gave their impression of the city and its current socio-economic moment. The talks were published bilingually in the standard fold-over form of the promotional catalogue. Along with the reproductions of the best known monumental values of the city, the city map marking Andreja's route and the location of the talks, the catalogue also contained photographs of the surroundings relating to every participant.

For the exhibition A Small Country for a Great Holiday, organised by the art historians Ana Dević and Nataša Ilić in the ŠKUC gallery in Ljubljana, Andreja performed the project Enjoy the Beach. Instead of the usual instructions and souvenirs given to visitors when entering our country, Andreja, together with her assistants, was giving away sets of 20 rubbish bags. The paper tie with the logo of the action Enjoy the Beach was carrying the instructions on how to use the bags and a note saying that less left rubbish on the beach meant more pleasure. The real situation on most of our beaches, or at least in its immediate surroundings, was vividly demonstrated by the reproduction on the cover. The action was video recorded, and the material rich with comic events edited, presented at the Croatian Radio Television and to the Croatian Tourist Board for their programme of summer activities 2002. Paradoxically for this action, but also for the exhibition of I. R. Janković, neither local, nor higher authorities showed any understanding for this, regardless of their evident social benefits.

Her probably most disturbing project, Nama: 1908 employees, 15 department stores, was done for the exhibition What, How and For Whom of the selectors Ana Dević, Nataša Ilić and Sabina Sabolović. The exhibition was dedicated to the 152nd anniversary of the Communist Manifesto. Andreja's work was in direct reference to the process of privatisation in Croatia which, due to the untransparent and even criminal management, caused a large number of the then solid companies to go bankrupt and close down. At the time when the exhibition was prepared and held, in the late spring of the year 2000, Nama, the largest department store chain in Croatia, was going through an agony. Employees, largely women, faced with the possibility of the company's closure and the loss of jobs, went on strike and constant duty to prevent the company from going in the hands of distrainors over night. The events were daily covered by all the Croatian media although, based on the previous similar experiences, everybody was already clear that the public voice could not save the company, no matter how right its employees might be. Inspired by this dramatic situation, Andreja's work consisted of newspaper ads and posters placed in the, for us then new, city light boxes used most for the promotion of products of the highly sophisticated world industry and banking. The poster was showing a Nama employee, and her two colleagues were posing for the promotional newspaper ad. Professionally made-up, and in spite of the official uniforms, they looked almost glamorous. The middle part of their figures was stamped with a large Nama logo and the following text was written below: 1908 employees, 15 department stores. Andreja's strategy caused complete confusion. The citizens were not clear whether this was an advertisement for the reopening of the department stores. The glamour of the posters also caused confusion. When I asked her whether a bigger effect would have been reached if the workers had been shown impoverished and deprived of their rights, poor and without dignity, Andreja said she didn't want to humiliate them even more since we had all become insensitive to the images of social misery. Her intention was to use the advertising mode of the high profit, global industry which, supported by the corrupted state apparatus, has been destroying our economy, in order to animate the passive public to start looking for solutions which would save not only Nama, but also themselves. Finally, the Nama chain has somehow managed to survive up to this date. The Nama project took place when Embryo was already a successful project in full swing. In certain way it announced the subject of distributive justice.

All described projects have a subversive strategy, a certain parasitism in common, by means of which the established way of reproduction of fabricated consciousness - billboards, presents given at the border, promotional catalogues, computer games etc., are used to actively question deliberately neglected and repressed issues. At the time when the pluralism of aesthetics has made the clearly defined area of art irrelevant, Andreja Kulunčić has dedicated herself to the work focusing on the current socio-political situation. Global issues are covered through the medium of Internet, local ones through the appropriate printed medium. Andreja doesn't believe that the art can change the world, but it can serve as a forum whose energy will gather the people of the today's fragmented social reality so that they can, through revived getting to know each other, start living it in its totality, and not everyone in his or her exclusive segment. Globally, although in practice used by very few people, Internet has proved to be a powerful weapon of joining people. It in fact helped Andreja solve a personal problem. Having arrived in Zagreb, the graduated sculptor had, among other things, no place to work. She discovered the virtual space and the whole group of people with whom she got together and started cooperating. Multimedia nature of Internet, its capacity to include projects of complex structure, naturally brought about the team work, the only possible way today to put broken segments of reality together. And hasn't this always been the true role of artists, even when they work on the other side of the aesthetic?

Andreja Kulunčić took her degree at the Department of Sculpture of the Faculty of Applied Arts and Design in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. From 1992 - 1994 she studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest with the professor Jovanovics Gyorgy. She now lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.

Branko Franceschi