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Photos and memes about Zhduna
In the photo (from right to left): Valentina Matvienko, Dmitry Medvdev, Zhdun
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Internet meme "Waiting" - where, how and when did it appear
If sociologists all over the world had been told 10-15 years ago that they would have to study some pictures that people send to a friend via the Internet, they would certainly have been very surprised. "Internet? And what do we have to do with it?" Today, the memes that appear every day on the expanses of social networks represent an unplowed field for these specialists. What is one Zhdun worth - either a person, or an animal, or an insect, which in 2017 won the hearts of Runet users in a matter of days. Let's try to figure out where the Zhdun meme came from and what it is.
Fun comes from Holland
In the spring of 2016, a creative exhibition of sculptures opened in Leiden, the Netherlands. The gifted youth exhibited their work at the Leiden Bio Science Park for three months. Among the exhibitors was 26-year-old Magriet van Breevoort, who presented the world with a sculpture of Homunculus loxodontus, whose name roughly translates from Latin as "humanoid elephant." According to Magritte herself, the sculpture symbolizes the patients of the clinic, waiting for their turn to get an appointment with a doctor. Can we say that we answered the question of how and where Zhdun appeared? Definitely not, because the story of the meme called "Waiting" is much more interesting.
Despite the fact that the sculpture quickly gained popularity in the Netherlands and quickly became one of the most frequently photographed sights of the country, it was not known about it for a long time in Russia. Exactly as long as one of the users of the Pikabu site did not tell about it at the beginning of 2017. The phenomenon of the “finest hour” of the Zhdun meme in the CIS, which has not ended to this day, is rather difficult to explain. Mikhail Nikolaevich Zadornov, I would say that our legs grow out of our ability to laugh at ourselves: always waiting for something, not always quick, but definitely good-natured.
Procession to the masses
From Pikabu, where Zhdun came from, he quickly spread throughout the Runet. In addition to the original black and white photo of a sea lion sculpture with the body of a larva and human hands, social media users began to send each other homemade memes for all occasions. Waiting girls appeared “waiting for March 8”, Waiting mother-in-law (“Son-in-law, I’ll stay with you for a while until we get bored”), Waiting girls from the accounting department (“I pressed something and everything disappeared) and many other variations of the meme for all occasions.
The leadership of Vkontakte decided not to be Zhdun and use the "hype" from the new meme to the maximum - in the spring of 2017, the social network released a series of free stickers with this meme for its users. Communities of needlewomen began to crochet Zhdun figurines, and smart entrepreneurs began to produce Zhdun soft toys for children and adults.
Interesting Facts
Zhdun's sculptor, Magrit van Breevoort, is distinguished not only by his creative talent, but also by his excellent sense of humor. The LUMS Medical Center, at the entrance to which the sculpture is installed, specializes, among other things, in genetic research. This led Magritte to the idea of creating a kind of genetic hybrid that radiates goodness and expects good news.
Immediately after the end of the exhibition, where Homunculus loxodontus won the audience award, Magritte filed a patent for the sculpture, and already in early 2017 she received the first order to make a copy of it for a Belgian businessman.
The sculpture took 75 kilograms of gypsum, which was covered with a mixture of wax and toluene, and only then with paint.
Homunculus loxodontus, although the most famous architecture of the medical center in Leiden, is definitely not the first. It is a kind of tradition to place funny sculptures in the lobby of the center that cheer up adults and children and relieve tension before going to the doctor.
About the history of the famous meme, about its creator, girlfriend and Instagram profile
When I first saw a photo with this incomprehensible creature, I thought it was a frame from some old movie. For some reason, I was sure that in the picture - a living person, dressed in a ridiculous suit. Too realistic were the hands sticking out of the "suit".
Who would have thought that the story of Zhdun, as he was dubbed in the Russian Internet community, is much more interesting.
It turned out that this character is closely connected with medicine. Of course, as a medical copywriter, I could not get past the topic.
So, meet Zhdun, aka Pochekun, aka Homunculus loxodontus.
A Brief History of Waiting
This story began in Holland. Where else, if not in a country where such a large range of means is legalized to achieve the peak of creative inspiration.
In the spring of 2016, the young artist Margriet van Brevoort received a grant from the Leiden University Hospital in the Netherlands to create a sculpture that would be presented at the thematic exhibition "life science".
Initially, the idea was to depict something related to research, procedures. In search of inspiration, Margrit wandered the corridors and observed the patients.
The artist saw many patients in a state of expectation. For example, in an ophthalmological clinic, elderly people with cloudy eyes were sitting and meekly waiting for their diagnosis.
Margrit decided to abandon the "scientific" theme and embody a state of humble expectation in sculpture. This is how the character Homunculus loxodontus appeared, which brought its creator an audience award at the exhibition.
Who invented Zhdun?
A man with a turtle head, a tourist boy with deer antlers, a rat with a seductive female body in a BDSM outfit, slugs with butterfly and dragonfly wings - the hyper-realistic and at the same time fantastic sculptures by the creator of Zhdun seem to be alive.
The girl graduated from art school quite recently - in 2013. At first she was engaged in paintings, but then she realized that the plane of the canvas limits her creativity. Working with volume is much more interesting. The artist who created Zhdun managed to sell only two sculptures. The second was Homunculus loxodontus itself.
What kind of animal is this waiting?
The name Homunculus loxodontus is Latin, it can be translated as "elephant man" or "elephant man". Actually, under this name the Dutch know this character. Zhdun is an exclusively Russian term.
The creature Zhdun received its head from a sea elephant. Hands are clearly human, folded into a “lock”, as people usually do in a state of expectation. The body is not entirely clear. It is said to be taken from a larva, but I believe that the artist made it so full and shapeless in order to better convey the emotions of the character.
In my opinion, the image of Zhdun came out very expressive. Sweet and creepy at the same time, in the eyes - hope and humility. It's hard to get past this. Selfie guaranteed. By the way, the elephant man has no legs.
Where is Zhdun?
The most recent information that I found about the place of residence of this creature dates back to February 2017.
Now Zhdun is in Holland, in the hospital that sponsored his creation - Leiden University Medical Center, in the Netherlands. The hospital has a special room for sculptures, where the elephant man has many neighbors, also with an unusual appearance.
What is Zhdun made of?
I dug up an interview that Zhdun's "mother" gave to Arguments and Facts. There she reveals that Loxodontus is made of epoxy and plastic. If you mix these two materials, you get something like plastic.
And in the photo, where Zhdun has not yet been completed, you can see that inside it is almost empty. So it's not very heavy.
Where did the Zhdun meme come from?
Margriet van Brevoort did not expect that her creation with the head of a sea elephant would bring her so much fame. And I certainly could not think that Homunculus loxodontus would become popular in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In Holland, Zhdun did not make so much noise, and most residents of other European countries did not know about this masterpiece at all.
So how did the Zhdun memes get into Russia?
In an interview with the Russian service of the BBC, the artist spoke about how a woman from Russia visited Leiden in the winter of 2017, took a photo of Zhdun and posted it on the Pikabu website. The users of the popular resource were immediately "hooked" by the unusual appearance of the elephant man, and then it went like a snowball.
Today, the Internet meme Zhdun appears before us in dozens of different images. He is the hero of famous paintings, the best friend of politicians and other memes, soaking epic phrases like “I pressed something ...”
However, jokes with Zhdun are limited not only to the fruits of photomontage and demotivators. The meme has become so popular that craftsmen have appeared who make their loxodonts from felt, plush, and crochet from yarn. And such souvenirs are bought for good money.
Why Zhdun?
What does Zhdun mean? This name is exclusively Russian. Let me remind you that in the homeland of the character they don’t call it that.
In the vastness of Runet, you can find references to the fact that the waiting people are characters from the book "The Wizard of the Emerald City". I don’t remember that there were such people there, but I don’t see the point in rereading a children’s book (there are several volumes) to check.
In any case, the Russian-language name of the elephant man turned out to be very short, capacious and accurate. Zhdun is the one who waits. In his eyes - humility, hope and interest. I look at the pictures, look into the eyes of this creature, and for some reason I feel very sorry for him. Ah here is such I the entire oxytocin.
In Ukraine, Zhdun is also called Pochekun. Whether there is a proper name in Kazakhstan, I don't know.
Why did the meme take root in Russia so much?
Dmitry Travin, a political scientist and professor at the European University in St. Petersburg, said that Zhdun is a symbol of Russia (before that, according to the political scientist, Cheburashka held this position).
The situation is very funny and revealing. Many symbols of Russia have already been invented, many of them are more beautiful, more leafy and give much more reason for pride. But the Audience Choice Award went to an awkward creature with an elephant's head, a flabby larva's body, and dutifully folded arms. You can't look without pity. It seems that Zhdun is telling us: “Well, it’s okay, I’ll endure a little more. Oh, it'll work out."
I think this is what resonated with the long-suffering Russian soul. We are used to standing in lines and waiting for better times.
Instagram Zhduna
Yes, Zhdun also has his own Instagram account. There you will find dozens of funny pictures.
Waiters in Russia
In Russia, their own Zhduny have already appeared. I found mention of two. One was installed in Chelyabinsk, in the photo zone of the Gorki shopping mall. It is made of concrete, and you can easily take a picture with it.
The Yakut master Mikhail Bopposov approached the creation of his Loxodont in a more creative way. He fashioned a sculpture out of dung.
Zhdun in Ukraine
Ukrainians (fraternal people, after all) were imbued with the image of Zhdun no less than Russians. In Ukraine, Loxodont became interested at the state level.
At the end of February 2017, Borislav Bereza, People's Deputy of Ukraine, brought a statuette of Zhdun to the Verkhovna Rada. Pochekun took a place of honor on the parliamentary platform. Bereza stated that the character symbolizes the expectations of the Ukrainian people.
The mayor's office of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro found a Dutch artist, got in touch with her and asked her to make a two-meter copy of the elephant man. If the negotiations are successful, the sculpture will be installed in the city center.
Waiter's girlfriend
Margrit van Brevort, apparently, decided not to stop at the creation of one Zhdun. Perhaps in the future, the Loxodont family will be replenished with new members, because not so long ago the artist posted a sketch with the elephant man's girlfriend on social networks.
Zhdunsha, as she was dubbed in RuNet, looks similar, but has a female breast and stands on crutches.
That, in fact, is all that I managed to find out about Zhdun. I hope you were interested. I think it's worth explaining a little why I touched on this topic on a blog about copywriting and marketing. It's just that I like to watch the life of such viral ideas and understand how they became viral. It has a lot to do with marketing.
Purposefully creating a meme that will “tear” the Internet community is a titanic task. Planning the fate of viral content is extremely difficult. Sometimes the most unexpected things pop up. Margrit did not set out to conquer the Runet, and was quite surprised by the reaction to her masterpiece.
And I wish for myself and you that not Zhdun, but some Delun-Achiever becomes a symbol of our life.
All the best and good luck! See you again.
And if you need a million dollar ideas from a marketing copywriter, be sure to contact me.
If you look closely, then in the subway or any other transport, every second person (out of an audience of 40-) makes his comute exclusively with headphones. Most still use wired ones, although blue teeth have long been affordable and good quality, pruflink. But, it is worth assuming that there is one question that every owner of headphones with "ear" type ears has faced: what are the names of these rubber bands from headphones that usually fly off in your pocket? And then you feel a sense of inferiority? Maybe "rubber earbuds for vacuum headphones"? Fortunately, this world is not so simple. There is a special word for these pads!
The part of the headphone device that is directly adjacent to the auricle is called....
Embouchure(ambushura, embushura) from French. embouchure , which translates ambiguously: mouth, confluence, vent, hole, mouthpiece, mouthpiece, tip, nozzle, nozzle, and actually - embouchure. Interestingly, in these foreign countries "the entrance (hole ...
What is Escobar's axiom?
Escobar's axiom- a non-mathematical term, but a popular meme on the net, traditionally used to state dead ends in disputes and holivars. Usually this situation develops when both sides of the conflict give sufficient arguments to state their innocence and it is impossible for third parties to decide on the victory of one of them, and the only solution is to issue a verdict: " Escobar's axiom". i.e. elimination from judging, because awarding victory to one side will violate justice and cause damage to the opponent.
The original formulation of Escobar's axiom: "With an uncontested choice of two opposite entities, both will be exceptional *nonsense*"
. (* - replacement with words of obscene vocabulary is allowed)
What is Escobar's axiom?
The expression means a situation where a person is offered a choice between two extremes - in this case, according to the author of the original phrase, both options are not worth considering.
Other application
Almost Escob's axiom...
What does it mean "went to the cuckoo"?
Recently, in many clickbaits you can find the well-established expression " %UserName (someone) went crazy "!
So what is cuckoo and where did she go?
In this particular case, do not confuse cuckoo"with an arrogant "cuckoo" - an informer, a decoy agent, here" cuckoo" denotes a "bird figurine" that lives in a mechanical wall clock and leaves the dwelling to announce the new hour.
When such a clock breaks and the cuckoo begins to "cuckoo" out of place, this causes wild irritation and a desire to deal with the bird. By analogy: when they say "to go crazy" - they mean that a person "has gone nuts" and he says or does something wrong, i.e. the head is a clock, and the cuckoo is inadequate actions, and to go kukuha means to go crazy.
Real life example: This summer I can afford to go .... only cuckoo ...
Oh, don't go l...
Active Internet users are probably familiar unknown animal called "Zhdun", whose popularity is growing every day, giving rise to more and more new topics for jokes. What is this creature, what is it waiting for and who is its creator? We will try to answer all these questions right now.
So, the original of this internet meme turned out to be a sculpture created by Margriet van Brevoort from Holland in 2016 for a bioscience competition. The original name of the sculpture, translated from Latin, means " insect and elephant mix". For this work, the creator received the audience award.
For those who have never come across her image, it is gray half elephant, half larva without legs and with human hands folded into a castle. From the description it may seem that this is some kind of monster from a horror movie, but do not rush to conclusions.
One has only to look into the eyes of this creature, as it immediately becomes clear that he definitely belongs to the number benevolent characters: a kind, and even slightly frightened look, an insecure pose - all this only causes sympathy.
Margrit did not want to create anything that would be reminiscent of diseases or medicine in general, so she directed her gaze to the other side of the doctor's office - to the waiting room, where there is a whole line of people waiting for a diagnosis.
As already noted, the sculpture was created in 2016, while it gained popularity on the Internet (more precisely, on social networks) in early 2017. It all started from the moment when the photos and the story of the creation of "Zhdun" were published on Pikabu website, this is what prompted the use of the wild imagination of users of the Russian-speaking part of the Internet.
At first, "Zhdun" reincarnated as various characters only in pictures: he was a conductor, an accountant, and a programmer. He managed to visit a huge pile of locations (the queue to the ATM, to the cashier of the store, and so on), and in each image he was certainly waiting for something.
"Zhdun" has become the embodiment of stereotypes about a variety of professions, and simply the types of people and their characters.
Further more! "Zhdun" began to go beyond a simple picture posted on the Internet. It became so popular that soft toys began to appear in stores various sizes, small souvenirs and bean bags in the form of this sculpture.
In Ukraine, "Zhdun" (although there he was given a completely different name - "Pochekun") was even able to attend a meeting of the Rada (State Duma), where he helped fight the delay of deputies.
Now there is even talk that it is necessary to install a statue of this creature in the city of Dnipro. Negotiations are currently underway with the creator of the famous sculpture.
But not only Ukraine showed its love for Zhdun, Russia also distinguished itself. For example, in February last year, A person showed up at the Russian Post, dressed in the costume of this character (he got there, by the way, at the invitation of one of the popular TV channels). They treated Zhdun there with a smile and all good nature, giving him a toy car.
Now you can see this little animal in Russia at the highest point of the Rosa Khutor resort and in the city of Chita, where the Zhduna sculpture is installed right near the park of the House of Officers.
It is also currently known that one of the Russian companies bought the rights to use the image"Zhduna" on various products. It is planned not only to produce toys and souvenirs, but also to create a whole cartoon, where the character loved by everyone will be in the lead role. Now the Russian-speaking "Zhdun" even has its own blog in some social networks!
Dmitry Travin, a Russian economist and journalist, called this character a national symbol of Russia, revealing in him all the features inherent in the Russian mentality: despite the fact that he looks rather lethargic, sad and, judging by his physique, lazy, he is inherent in maintaining an optimistic look to the upcoming changes that he expects.
Journalist Isabelle Mandro admitted that she understands what reason for the wild popularity“Zhduna” in Russia and Ukraine is a consequence of the Soviet past, where you constantly had to wait for something, even an elementary line for food began to line up from early morning.
This, according to Isabelle, causes some sense of kinship users of the Russian-speaking Internet with Zhdun.
Well, we hope that this article helped answer all the questions about the Internet meme popular today under the name "Waiting".
Hello dear readers!
Today we will turn to an unusual sculpture created in distant Holland. And if you think that the inhabitants of this country have different views on life or other problems, then you are deeply mistaken. Recently, a sculpture “Waiting” appeared here in a small town, and immediately a bunch of memes of a waiter appeared on the Internet, which everyone loved very much. So let's find out Zhdun today who it is and what it means.
There is no person in the world who has not stood in line at least once. Even in advanced Western Europe, this problem exists. And if you expand it on a global scale, then we are all constantly waiting for something: changes for the better, happiness, help. Our life turns into sitting on a bench, waiting for something incomprehensible.
Such thoughts are evoked by the sculpture of the Dutch sculptor and artist Margriet van Breefort. It is very difficult to say exactly Zhdun - what it is and who it represents. Apparently, initially in his place was supposed to be a person waiting for a doctor's appointment. There are sketches showing that the sculpture was conceived as a naked woman on crutches.
Sitting on a bench in anticipation of an exorbitantly fat creature resembles a humanoid elephant with a small thick trunk. According to the artist herself, this is an experiment that failed, he is waiting in the wings to get better. This is a charming lump of flesh: you just want to hug him.
It is difficult to say for sure who Zhdun is and where this idea came from. At the exhibition in the city, where young artists traditionally present their works for 3 months in the spring, the sculpture did not cause a strong stir.
However, already in August, at the end of the event, the elephant-like man won the audience award, for which in May 2016 he was installed in front of the children's clinic in the city of Lenden. Since then, it has become the most photographed attraction of this place.
So far, the creator of Zhduna, according to her, is at the beginning of her journey as a sculptor and artist. Sculpture Zhdun - the second work that she sold.
Next to the humanoid elephant Margrit, in the same row, are two more mysterious creations of the sculptor: a tourist with horns and an incomprehensible creature called "8015": an almost naked woman with a beaver's head.
At the peak of popularity
In Russia, Zhdun became famous thanks to a Russian tourist who was visiting Holland. She photographed the sculpture and posted the photo on her website. Since then, Zhdun began to travel the Internet.
Zhdun Mem (a funny photo with a caption that has a sarcastic overtone) turned out to be extremely tenacious. In what way he just did not appear: politicians, and movie stars, and mother-in-law from jokes, and even appeared on the canvases of great artists. What is the great Zhdukonda worth, in the place of which the hero conveniently perched!
Photo-toads with the participation of the new hero stirred up the network so much that the artist decided to register in VKontakte and create her own page dedicated to creativity. But the story of Zhdun did not end there.
Zhdun has become a convenient meme for any occasion. Where only they did not manage to insert it. Here are some popular options:
- Glutton. The figure is depicted next to the refrigerator, while the physique of the hero is quite consistent with the task.
- Conductor. Zhdun appears with a bunch of tickets.
- Connoisseur of the transfer “What? Where? When?" - a very good application.
No less harmoniously fit the sculpture into classical portraits and landscapes:
- Painting "Girl with peaches". Zhdun with folded hands sits at the table.
- "Walkers near Lenin", where the main revolutionary turned into a creature with a trunk.
- "Knight at the Crossroads". The hero patiently sat down on a stone.
And there are many such metamorphoses on the Internet. The new hero of our time had many admirers. Probably, they will soon begin to produce Zhdun gift - a sarcastic figurine that can be applied to any occasion.
Some interesting facts...
Several interesting facts are connected with the newly minted image:
- If you are wondering who Zhdun is, where he came from, you should take a closer look at the photo of such an unusual animal as the sea elephant. The shapeless body of the animal and its thick nose formed the basis of the image.
- To make a sculpture, Margrit needed 75 kg of plaster. To prevent moisture and weather from spoiling the creation, Zhdun was covered with wax mixed with toluene. The white nondescript statue was covered with a special paint.
- In 2016, Margrit patented her invention. The very next year, she received an order from a Belgian businessman to make an exact copy of the sculpture.
- In 2017, the program "Mail without queues" was opened. A man dressed in a Zhdun costume appeared at the Moscow event. At first, they did not want to let him through, but then the journalists begged the administration to attend the ceremony.
- Amateurs make copies of the sculpture from anything: snow, sand, and even manure.
We are all waiting for something. All of humanity is waiting for change. Zhdun is the absence of a difference between “was” and “became”. It's a satiated constancy when nothing happens.
The hero was perceived by people as a native. Each of us lives like this. Only now did he crawl out and take on flesh and form.
See you soon, friends!
