The Hungarian Orange is a Lemon
This work takes a look at Hungarian identity represented by the orange. The subject of representation of identity through an orange was started by Péter Bacsó’s film A Tanú / The witness (1969). The movie is a satirical comedy mirroring the current political situation of communism in Hungary at that time. One event that the movie captures is the real occurrence of forced labour of growing oranges where there wasn’t a suitable climate (In Hungary). In the movie this is shown by one of the main characters getting to present a communist official the one good orange they have grown in the orange research institute. During the ceremony titled “Elore a Magyar naracsért” (translated to “Forwards with the Hungarian Orange”), before they try to present the orange, one character’s little boy eats it, leaving a panic on what to present to the official. They come up with a plan to present a lemon instead, insisting that no one will know. When the official tries the orange (that is actually a lemon) he instantly puckers up to the sourness of the supposed orange and questions if it is really an orange. To this response, a character proclaims that this is “The new Hungarian Orange, it’s a tad bit more yellow, a bit sour, but its OURS”. This scene became influential due to “the “Hungarian orange” became a symbol for expressing the gap between the sweet party propaganda and the daily sour reality of socialist life.” The then “liberal” political party Fidesz adopted the symbolism of the orange in their campaigns into progressing out of communist times. The Hungarian orange represents who we are as a nation and how we have fought for what we believe in, the ideals of building a better state than what was. The Hungarian orange has metaphorically constantly rolled back and forwards in its political views and ways of life. Looking around the exhibition space you will find the orange placed everywhere, representing that we aren’t repressed and restricted anymore, we are free to be Hungarian in own terms. This piece is made in memory of my Hungarian grandparents, for their stories and treasures from their time has abetted me into exploring my own identity in being Hungarian.
