NINE HUNGARIAN FLAGS

When you are offered the opportunity to spend nine months in New Zealand on a scholarship representing your country, a lot of things go through your mind. You think about what it means to be Hungarian. What makes me Hungarian? Maybe it's a bit like a belief in God, that it's a journey, a process of searching. And then I started to think about how to transmit this sense of being Hungarian in a way that is special and unique. How could we weave our small country into this culture in a way that is not intrusive, but still makes it part of it. Present, yet hidden. I was sitting in the Hungarian Heritage House on the second day of preparatory programme for the scholarship in Hungary, and it suddenly occurred to me: I'm going to take nine small Hungarian flags with me to Auckland, and I'm going to hide them all over New Zealand - one a month - during my nine months here. Most of the hidden locations are already planned, but I've also given myself the opportunity to improvise, as I'm sure I'll be hit by a lot of impulses during the trip. I would like to hide these little Hungarian flags in places that - there, at that moment - make the heart beat. In this way, a tiny Hungary will remain there for who knows how long, perhaps forever, becoming part of New Zealand, visible yet invisible.

I will report back soon from the first location!

Áron Darvasi