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Dedicated to Suburbia

(Picture: all pictures by DS)

Suburbia (Interviews with Bruegel II)

(21.5.2023) As I am wandering through suburbia, right in front of me a squirrel passes my way, crossing the street. I am coming closer to the city border again; there is a fuel station, just around the corner, and I already can see the large industrial colors and lacquers outlet. But a squirrel crosses my path, not even in a hurry, and disappearing, rather lethargically, in some small piece of forest. And I may say that this is happening quite often to me: that a squirrel passes my way. It is their way of saying: wanderer, you are very close of grasping a big thought, a revolutionary thought! Think hard, think harder, reach out – and you will get it! What was I thinking about? About a definition of suburbia. But right – the definition is rather a feel, a mood. The fuel station is coming into sight, which is also a sort of shop for everything; two female shop assistants, dressed in black, are sitting in a sort of improvised garden at a small table, staring at their smartphone screens. It is probably their afternoon break. The sun is shining, but the recent defeat of the local fooball team has cast a shadow on the city. An art institution, the Schaulager, is near. The whole area is a sort of industrial area in development. But also with old railway tracks leading into nowhere. There is weed, the walls show all kinds of graffiti, and the city, the urban area, strictly speaking, ends here. And this is where suburbia begins. This is what suburbia is.

– Mr. Bruegel, what do you think of suburbia? What was your personal reason to move extra muros, if I may say so?
– Are we speaking Latin now? One does not speak Latin extra muros. And I do not live sub urbe, underneath the city, and in a dusty catacomb. But yes, I do live extra muros. There is a farm nearby (a humongous crow was sitting there, on a pole). And also a prison. Which belongs to the city. These kind of institutions the cities want to have extra muros. This is also suburbia.
– So it wasn’t the local dinosaur?
– That made me move to suburbia? No, this is a cliché, a suburban legend. And it is also a suburban legend that one can easily distinguish the urban and the suburban space. No, it is not that easy. It is more about the atmosphere, about the mood. And to grasp this, you have to become an observer. Of detail. And perhaps, if a squirrel passes your way, you will begin to feel… But no, it wasn’t the local dinosaur. This is only what people say, if they are asked in interviews, what was the reason that made them move to suburbia.

– I have a couple of pictures here, that I would like to show to you, Mr. Bruegel. Perhaps you may comment on what you see, on the difficult distinction of urban and suburban space. Here they come:

And here:

– Yes, okay. The first one is urban space. Failed bank on the left, flourishing bank on the right. And note how rigidly the sky is mapped in the city. But the second only seems to show the quintessential urban space. As a matter of fact this could be also in suburbia. Is it?

– Not exactly. It is very close to the city border, but it is still urban space, as a matter of fact. An area in development. Close to my (momentarily) favourite second-hand-store.

– Yes, the last one catches the atmosphere of suburbia quite well. This is probably the rear of a recycling bin. But why don’t you tell us your recent adventure in suburbia? Because this is also part of suburbia.

For the first time in my life I have to flee into the woods. What is happening? There is a flock of cows coming my way. And the way is narrow, a real bottleneck. It is: me or them. And they are coming in rash movement towards me, no discussion. And there are calfs, and the adults can become quite aggressively protective. What is there to do? I cannot even move backwards, because they are coming too fast. I have no choice but to flee into the woods. Which is easier said than done, because I have to manage immediately to climb a steep wayside. I manage to flee, and from above, as a kind of Robin Hood now, I am overseeing the spot. The flock is still in rash movement, and moving towards the nearby farm. And there is a kumite coming, sitting on a scooter which is blue.

– So, Mr. Bruegel, I think you have not yet told us the actual, the real reason for which you have moved to suburbia. Was it perhaps the smell? Because suburbia, especially if one is close to the final stop of some tramway, is either smelling of wisteria of of waffles. Was it for the waffles?

– Wisteria of waffles? I have completely different thoughts here: this is the place where I did learn to drive a car. And in one of these quiet tree-lined streets I did even pass my exam. The expert wanted to see me fail the exam, but I did pass it. And look: a cat. In suburbia neighbors check out their neighbors in a different way: by sending their cats.

– Perhaps the ›saved food‹ is also better in suburbia?

– The ›saved food‹ usually is better.

– And the art magazines are better?

– The art magazines? Yes, some of the art magazines are better.

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