BODY OF WORK: THE THREE PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY, 2018

What is democracy? Scholars and constitutional theorists have exhausted themselves for centuries in lyrical descriptions of a sublime mental construct: separation of powers, participation, and the sovereignty of the people. A flawlessly crafted narrative framework designed primarily to camouflage the system's unpalatable core. Scraping away the civic incense reveals no philosophical virtues, but rather a ruthless marketplace where interests are violently negotiated and votes are traded like shares.

Out of extensive, sobering research emerge three terms that frankly expose the actual foundation of every Western power structure: MONEY, POWER, and GREED. These three monoliths do not mark ancient temple pillars of classical marble, but a brutal construction-site aesthetic made of coarse building materials and styrofoam. A sarcastic monument: outwardly feigning unshakable weight, yet inwardly hollow, profane, and disconcertingly transient.

“The Sublime Foundation of Rendered Foam”

© 2018 Edin Mustafic – The Three Pillars Of Democracy

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Ti­tel: Die drei Säu­len der De­mo­kra­tie | Jahr: 2019 | For­mat: 3× (150×34×36 cm) | Ma­te­ri­al: Sty­ro­por & di­ver­se Bau­ma­te­ri­a­li­en

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    ART MAD­RID 2020 (15th Edi­tion) Con­tem­po­ra­ry Art Fair
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    www.art-madrid.com
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    JUST­MAD (X Edi­tion) E­merg­ing Art Fair
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Work note, Vienna, 2018:
Three multilingually stamped pillars—GREED, GELD, PODER—demonstrate the transnational consensus of economic and political power concentration. The gray, concrete-like slurry applied over an artificial hollow core exposes the pathetic solemnity of democratic institutions as a cheap, fragile facade.

© 2026 Edin Mustafic

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