Interview Thursday: " Whoever thinks that skin color difference matters is a total and absolute idiot..."

I met this amazing individual in India during the Info-Activism Camp within 3 days, I noticed he wore only white clothes in different styles, designs and textures and he was extremely busy most time shooting videos, attending sessions or hanging out with friends which happened to include me at the end of the day.

This amazing individual is Marcin Gajewski ( Mr. White) born in Warsaw, Poland in 1981 and migrated to Amsterdam, the Netherlands where he grew up when he was 5. Marcin has MA in Arts from London where he now lives. Traditionally, Marcin is an exhibiting artist and filmmaker and he is now an information activist since Bangalore Indian.

This picture was taking from Marcin's website http://www.marcingajewski.com/

What is your driving passion in your profession?

Being an artist and independent filmmaker is a driving passion in my life. So my live is the driving inspiration in my art and filmmaking.

What is the world like through visuals?

Moving image has the potential to depict a reality that does not exist. It can explain complex concepts in a simple and accessible way. It can be poetic, magic, informative and it can inspire to take action. Unfortunately, it is also very easy to manipulate audiences with moving image and to use it for propaganda. Like any tool, it is used for both bad and good. Being a moving image maker for me means I see a big part of my life through the lens of a camera, which sometimes lessens my experience of the moment unfolding.

This picture was taking from Marcin's website http://www.marcingajewski.com/

Is there hope for activists in using video to document or tell their stories?

I think video is a very potent tool, especially for activists, as it has become more widely available and cheaper to produce and publish over the past decade. The great thing about video is that it can be implemented into a very wide scope of projects and aspects of a campaign, from funding applications to actual on the ground action. Video can serve as a particularly effective educational tool. A big problem with video is it needs equipment and electricity, both scarce commodities in certain areas where video usage might really help.

While at IAC 09 in Bangalore, I noticed you were always in white attires, what inspire this and how long have you dressed in white?

Ha ha! I’ve been wearing solely white clothes for the last eight years or so, give or take a month.

Will you at any point change your style?

This is a question my dad finally stopped asking after years of insistently making fun of me. He had serious adjustment issues to my almost religious approach to what I wear color wise, but gave up the fight eventually. Lets just say I haven’t found a good reason to stop yet.

Do you think your dressing style distinguishes you?

One of the reasons that I only wear white is because it does tend to stick out a bit. But remember, its not a part of who I am, its just a part of what I choose to wear. As far as clothing goes, I don’t believe in following fashion, I do believe in having a style.

What is your favorite color?

My favorite color is and always has been red! I tend to shift between a full blood red and a more kind of orangy red between the years. I must confess though, I have been totally reevaluating the concept of colors during and after my recent visit to India. What an amazing relationship between people and incredibly vibrant and oversaturated colors! In the barren deserts of Rajasthan everything is bleak and sandy, and then out of nowhere a woman walks by in the most pink and purple clothing you have ever seen! The intensity of the colors is blinding, not to even mention the amazing festival of colors called Holi.

What will you like to change in the world?

So much, there aren’t enough pages on this blog to describe them all in detail! The ideological thing I would want to change is human nature. I believe greed causes many of the problems we face today, in every level of society across the whole world. Another thing would be perception of the climate crisis and how it will influence a large part of the world population in a negative way. Global economic policies and issues surrounding fresh drinking water are two other areas which need serious change.

Have you ever being to Africa?

Sadly, not yet.

What is your perception of Africa and its people?

Never having been in Africa makes me doubt my own perceptions of the African continent. Also, there are so many differences between Africans I think there is no one perception that is true or realistic. The only thing I really know is that I want to visit, and that it saddens me to see all the perpetual violence going on in multiple countries.

Is racism about people or about their orientation, can you give your perception on this issue?

I think, like many other ails in the world, racism is a question of education and upbringing. Why else would there be blind people that are racists? It comes forth and perpetuates itself from a nasty mix of fear, history and greed. The way to fight racism is through education. Whoever thinks that skin color difference matters is a total and absolute idiot, period.

How can we end all the wrong issues like hunger, racism, killings, war in the world, do you think it’s possible?

The first step would be to understand why these problems exist in the first place, so back in the lap of education and unconditional access to information. Wars for instance are practically always fought about resources yet nationalism and or religion are the two main political tools to motivate and get consent for them. Believing in one world, one people, stands in exact opposition to the concept of nationalism and all the problems that flow from it. If we start accepting each other, and realizing we are all in it together, I believe things would slowly change for the better. Being a pragmatic pessimist though, well, lets just say we have to keep trying until we succeed.

Thanks for your time Marcin.

You are welcome.

For more on Marcin's work visit http://www.marcingajewski.com/