I had a big smile on my face when I red about the installation of the Czech artist David Cerny in Brussels at the European Parliament.

The eight-tonne mosaic is held together by snap-out plastic parts similar to those used in modeling kits. It represents (almost) all of the European countries in a sarcastic(?)/ humoristic way, revealing the national stereotypes.

Entropa portrays Romania as a Dracula theme-park and France as a country on strike. The Netherlands is shown as series of minarets submerged by a flood – a possible reference to the nation’s simmering religious tensions. Latvia is covered with mountains all over. Germany is shown as a network of motorways vaguely resembling a swastika, while the UK – criticised by some for being one of EU’s most eurosceptic members – is absent from Europe altogether.

The 16-square-metre work was installed to mark the start of the six-month Czech presidency of the EU. There has already been an angry reaction to the piece from many official persons.

I think the Czech artist has created a good test we have to go through to see if we are capable to laugh about ourselves.

And, another example- closer to my daily life.

Two of my classmates Mia Melvaer and Eva Vermeulen did a very interesting research in Design Academy about the gap between Dutch and international students. They asked students to draw “the others”.

Dutch students drawn by international students:

And international students drawn by Dutch …So many of the details that are pointed out are true…!

I think it’s a very healthy thing to learn- to smile about oneself.

Cheers.