The Hegemonic Gaze and East-Central Europe - Challenging the Totalitarian Paradigm

The chapter introduces the notion of the "hegemonic gaze" in relation to the representation of East-Central Europe, demonstrating how the artist becomes interpellated as a regional subject, becoming simultaneously included and othered. It begins by examining the complexities involved in defining the region and the power dynamics involved in naming and being named. The author argues that different terms produce specific subject positions, reinforcing certain narratives about the region and foregrounding the end of communism and the failure of the socialist project.
Through the lens of Stuart Hall's theory of encoding and decoding, the chapter explores how exhibitions and artworks depicting socialist monuments and architecture often become simplified and reinterpreted within the global art discourse. The author shows how the ‘‘hegemonic gaze’’ reinforces existing narratives and imposes meanings. Despite artists' efforts to engage with the complexities of the past, their work is often interpellated within predetermined frameworks that limit its interpretation.