In the two-part video Palatul – The Palace, Mona Vatamanu and Florin Tudor focus their attention on the emblem of power in Romania: Nicolae Ceausescu's old palace, second biggest edifice in the world after the Pentagon in Washington. The construction of this enormous building started in 1984 and significantly contributed to the country's economic collapse. Main tourist attraction in Bucharest, today it is home to the Romanian parliament and the National Museum of Contemporary Art that opened in 2004.

During their visit of the palace, the couple films two tour guides consecutively, like tourists bringing back a souvenir from their trip to Romania (it is however necessary to spend 9 euros to obtain the authorization to film the parliament). The first part of the video corresponds to a very 'official' looking visit by the guide Diana, who numbers in great detail the conception and architecture of the building, reducing the history of the palace to its decoration. However, she omits to evoke the dramatic conditions in which it was built, as well as the repercussions of this gigantic construction site on the Romanian people. In the second part, the guide adopts a different attitude, he makes jokes to impress his audience and tells anecdotes on a semi-sarcastic tone. More than any other building, the 'Palace of the People' crystallizes the recent history of Romania. By showing these two tours one after the other, the artists clearly indicate the ambivalence of historical narratives.

Translated by Mia Stern, 2021