Pop-up separatism:
How to make a DIY country.




Any country can be considered as a performative work of art. But usually we find ourselves inside the framework of a ready-made model, created without our involvement. These instructions will help to transfer such situations into a state of personal act and understand the deep meaning of separating oneself from Otherness. Production is available to anyone and requires minimal resources.


The lifespan of your future Сountry and its size don't matter. After all, there are no standards for these parameters. And If someone doesn't recognize your choice, don't argue. Remember there are unrecognized countries in the world that exist despite their status. Besides, you can always say that this is just a work of art.


1. To begin, you need to choose a place, access to which is not limited. There are many such places everywhere, if you look closely and search a little. Just remember that oftentimes humans cannot control everything that they claim as controlled.


2. You need to prepare the place. Do what you decide is necessary to bring order. This is important not only for a comfortable future pastime, but also because through work with a place, it is appropriated and you get the feeling that you have rights to this piece of the planet.


3. You must materially designate the place. Use borders for this. Don't worry if these borders seem illusory - all borders are more liquid than we think.


4. It is not so important what form your Country will take, because any form is separatism from the chaos of misunderstanding.


5. Now this place has become a territory. But the territory is not a сountry yet. A territory is a form that needs to be filled with symbols, because any country is, above all, a set of symbols.


6. You can come up with a name for this territory and other identifying attributes and rituals. This will demonstrate seriousness, indicate your intentions and fill the form with content. To construct the identity of your Country, you can use existing symbolic schemes or come up with your own.


7. Congratulations! Now you have your own Country! You did a good job and deserve some rest. You can sit or even lie down on the territory of your Country. Look at the sky. And think about the fact that the sky looks at all other countries of this world with the same expression.




MAXIM POLYAKOV