Walking a road that millions have walked, meeting in one place. Being one of them, but in a different way. Generations of young people growing up in an urban environment that embeds itself into one’s identity. Living as part of diasporas, from various backgrounds, with dreams of better futures.

Balloons and That is an exhibition about personal struggle, migration, life in an urban metropolis, climate change, and speculations on identity. Growing up in a rough urban area of the former Eastern Bloc made me observant of street culture in London. I often wonder about the stories of the street youth in this Western metropolis. I find myself questioning: Who would I be if I had grown up in a similar environment here? Would I be part of the street youth searching for their way? Which tracksuit to wear—one associated with stereotypes of Eastern Europe or one tied to the streets of London?

A metropolis with one of the most diverse demographics fractures identities to such an extent that we become detached from the identities of specific groups—ethnic, racial, national, or class-based. In turn, new hybrid identity groups begin to form.

Oftentimes, an individual may not understand who their inner self really is but has only the vague feeling that he or she is being forced to live a lie. This can leave the obsessive focus on the question “Who am I, Really?”     
question already answered by people and the environment around them. The search for an answer produces feelings of alienation and anxiety and can only be relieved when one accepts that inner self and receives public recognition for it.

The urban phenomenon of inhaling laughing gas—and its residue in the form of empty gas canisters scattered around streets—is often associated with partying youth from low-income backgrounds. It also carries connotations of groups frequently linked to crime and various traffic accidents.

Nitrous oxide (N₂O), commonly known as laughing gas, is also a potent greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential 270 times greater than that of carbon dioxide for the same volume. It plays a significant role in contributing to climate change.

Inhalation of nitrous oxide for recreational use, with the purpose of causing euphoria or slight hallucinations, began as a phenomenon for the British upper class in 1799, known as “laughing gas parties”. 

It has been made illegal to use with the purpose of misuse of its psychoactive effects since 2023.

Another gas associated with both balloons and the notion of escape is helium—the only chemical element that actively escapes Earth’s atmosphere on its own, weaving a narrative of dreams and the desire to escape toward a more promising future.

Balloons and That does not seek to create narratives about identities. Instead, it aims to foster an environment that sparks questions, feeding the bonfire of fantasies—particularly those surrounding the perception of our identities, shaped by the world we live in. It tells urban stories connected to our everyday realities and near futures.

Reality is a waste of time—at least, thinking about reality is.