riitta oittinen

EUROSIGNS AROUND THE WORLD

”The European flag is the symbol not only of the European Union but also of Europe's unity and identity in a wider sense. The circle of gold stars represents solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe ” (Portal Europa. Gateway to the European Union).
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THE EUROSIGN PHOTO PROJECT (2005-) analyses the individual meanings and the overall impact of Europe/European Union related representations. Eurosigns are business signs, advertisements, logos, hoardings, window displays and such that make use of institutional symbols of the European Union. The focus is on how SMEs link the idea of Europe either verbally or visually to their marketing.

A EUROSIGN MAY include a modification of the blue flag of European union with its twelve golden stars (the eurostars), the map of Europe with EU member states highlighted, the attribute "eur(o)" or the letter €, or some other visual element endorsed by the EU. Some pictures have also been collected to give a backdrop to eurobranding.

THE PROJECT USES photographs by myself and a multinational group of over 70 volunteer eurosignspotters to dissect the concept of Europe. Eurosignspotters have used mobile phones as well as cameras; cars, trains, and even planes have been used to catch the subject. At the moment the collection contains 1000+ documentary photographs. The work goes on!

THE METHODOLOGY of my study draws on histories from below, urban studies and the ethnographic tradition. I would call my approach modern urban archaeology, too, because it characterises the interdisciplinary nature of my attempt to put together a mosaic of urban values. This approach addresses questions about how people fashion their environments to create meanings about who and where they are in the world, and how, in the process, they communicate feelings of belonging and attachment.

Project EUrosigns got a 3rd price at Memefest 2008.

Call for eurosignspotters

Do you have photos of eurosigns? Send me one and become a eurosignspotter.

The documental value is more important than aesthetics or technical standards:feel free to use a pocket camera or a mobile phone. Enclose data on the location and date of the picture.

You are invited to send us additional information on the context of your photograph, if you wish (the how, why, where, or what of the image). We aim to highlight and discuss some of the images more extensively in the future.

Your credits will be included in the research or exhibition.

Ryhdy eurospottaajaksi

Oletko spotannut eurokyltin? Lähetä se minulle. Myös kännykkä- tai taskukamerakuvat kelpaavat. Mainitse kuvausajankohta ja kohteen sijainti (paikkakunta). Muita tietoja voit lisätä halusi mukaan.

Kuvaajan copyright mainitaan ja se pysyy kuvan omistajalla.

Pictures from

Aarhus, Adelianos Campos, Amsterdam, Angouleme, Apulia, Arenkipa, Athens, Aveiro, Avignon, Bad Wimpfen, Bad Rappenau, Baile Herculane, Bansko, Baracaldo, Barcelona, Basel, Beijing, Benidorm, Benin (on the road), Berlin, Bilbao, Bo, Bologna, Bonn, Bordeaux, Brisbane, Budapest, Burgos, Cairo, Caplija, Chisinau, Copenhagen, Cork, Cusco, Damascus, Delft, Doha, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Eschige, Espinho, Feldkirch, Finland (on the road), France (on the road), Frankfurt am Main, Freetown Christiania, Galway, Gambia (on the road), Germany (on the road), Granada, Granja, Gresham, Hague, Hama, Hamburg, Hatillo, Heidelberg, Helsinki, Hertfordshire, Istambul, Italy (on the road), Järvenpää, Kahlsruhe, Karesuvanto, Kolartorp, Kuala Lumpur, La Perade, Las Palmas, Lebanon (on the road), Lima, Linz, Ljubljana, London, Luxembourg, Managua, Manchester, Marbella, Marseille, Metkoviz, Mettlach, Montpellier, New York, Normandy, Oberhausen, Palmyra, Paris, Pietari, Portland, Porto, Pozdan, Prague, Pristina, Prizren, Riga, Rouen, Rotterdam, Saltzburg, San Salvador, Santander, Seoul, Sofia, Sortavala, Sri Lanka, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Tallinn, Tampere,Targu Jiu, Tartu, Tensta, Tirana, Torre Annunziata, Toulouse, Toronto, Turku, Varna, Venice, Vienna, Viljandi, Waco, Weimar, Zagreb, Zaragoza

Spottings by

Sanna Aaltonen (Finland, Tunisia)
Anonymous (Finland)
Kaliakra Alexeeva-Milkova (Bulgaria)
Ann (USA)
Annette (France)
Kate the Archivist (Italy)
Bob the Astorian (USA)
merry aquarian (Italy)
Arnold Bartetzky (Poland, Czech republic)
Les Butcher (Malaysia)
Netta Böök (Finland; Italy)
ChPBR_Stalingrand (Belgium)
Cecily (USA)
Rob Colbert (Spain)
David Cowie (Great Britain)
Laura Danilotskin (Finland)
Philippe Dapelo (France)
Defenestr8or (Spain)
Stefan Dauth (Germany)
Ross Davidson (Great Britain)
Regine Dura (Germany)
John Elmslie (Canada)
Eschige (Canada)
Marc Hautecoeur (Luxembourg)
Kari Hautanen (Estonia, Finland)
Tuija Heino McRobert (Belgium)
Zsuzsanna Hegyközi (Hungary)
Eeva Hjort (Finland)
Richard Hemmer (Vienna)
Marjaliisa & Seppo Hentilä (Austria, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia)
Maximilian Herold (Ireland)
Sheila M. Iñiguez de Heredia (Spain)
Hoosadork (Ireland)
Jaana Hotakainen (Ghana)
Akitoshi IIo (Egypt)
Gerry Birgit Ilvesheimo (Germany, Finland, France, USA)
Cinty Ionescu (Romania)
Daniel JackZon (The Basque country)
Laura Kansanen-Stavale (Finland)
Hanna-Riikka Kavasto (Albania, Belgium, Benin, Finland, Moldova, New Zealand, Romania, South Korea)
Elina Katainen (Finland)
Nathan Keay (Germany)
Kaisa-Reeta Koskinen (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Spain)
Ann Kroon (Nigaragua)
Anu Leinonen (China)
Anja Lempinen (Finland)
Jenny Lau (Germany)
Tom Lauwers (Spain)
Petteri Lehtonen (Belgium, France, Spain)
Anu Leinonen (China)
Kenny Lex (Sweden)
lynzlefish (Great Britain)
m.a.r.c. (Australia)
Vasilis Meschinis (Holland)
C McLemore (Great Britain)
MIgración TOtal (Germany, Ireland)
Peter Milkov (Belgium, Bulgaria)
Austin Mini (Bulgaria)
M. Moorman (Holland)
Elisa Muraja (Greece, Sweden)
Tuomas Muraja (Greege, Sweden, Finland)
Johanna Mäkilä (France)
NicaRagans (Nicaragua)
Ari Nieminen (Finland, Germany)
Nimeus (Belgium)
Taina Nikula (Belgium)
Kirsti Palonen (Russia, Karjalan tasavalta, Finland)
Raimo Parikka (Austria, Czech republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Spain)
Fernando Pedrosa (Germany)
Jukka-Pekka Piimies (Belgium, Czech republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Latvia, Sweden)
Nic Price (Great Britain)
Thomas Pröls (Germany)
Juri Puhakka (China, Denmark, France, Spain)
Elina Raitasalo (Greece)
Jukka Rantala (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Minno Ramirez (Puerto Rico)
Päivi Reijonen (Belgium, France, Italy)
Csaba Remann (Romania)
rpele (Italy)
Robert Saucier (USA)
Leena Salakari (Belgium, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain)
Carita Savolainen (Peru)
Åsmund Seip (Greece)
Hazuki Sekine (Switzerland)
Maaria Seppänen (Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Italy, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Nicaraqua, Sierra Leone)
Deane Simpson (Switzerland)
Despina Spathi (Greece)
Harri Susi (Belgium)
ShamrockTattoo (Ireland)
Jakub Trš (Czech republic)
Katarina Tršova (Czech republic)
ella tin (Portugal)
Ioannis Toulianos (Greece)
Minna Uimonen (Lebanon)
Emily Webber (Great Britain)
Michael Yagoda (USA)
Cely Yeow (Malesia)
Liisa Vihmanen (Turkey)

Tips and help

The Russian gourmet shop, Portland 2010. Cecilys's set here.

euroraivaus_parikka

Raimo Parikka’s Europe-set here.

With the kind support of Finnish Academy of Science and Letters - Emil Öhman Foundation; Finnish-Swedish Culture Foundation; Finnish Association of Science Editors and Journalists & The Finnish Assiciation in Belgium (Suomi-Klubi a.s.b.l)

eurospotting

Project started 2005