Of paintings by Sunćica Perišin Tomljanović
Of poetry by Neva Lukić
Sound piece by Ben Romberg
Opening the evening 10th of May at 8 pm
in the Gallery of Matica Hrvatska
(The exhibition will remain opened until the 24 of May)
Book signing & Readings of the original mythological folk songs and poetry by Neva Lukić will be held in the library of Matica Hrvatska at 7 pm of the same day by the actor Paško Vukasović & Neva Lukić.
Our education is based on the teachings of different mythologies, including the Greek, Roman and going as far as Egyptian, but somehow we still avoid the native Slavic mythology. One encounters the Slav mythology only wondering down the atypical routes of research, such as through the stories of Ivana Brlić Mažuranić who had dug up the roots of the oldest myths hidden in brambles and and turned them into palatable stories for which we crave as a hungry child does for food.
"Holy Yegorije, God 's locksmith, took the key, opened the country, opened the country, let out the dew. - Holy Elijah, where do you go? - I walked on the lawns, on dewy grass, walked across the fields - germinated wheat.''These were lyrics of hope , words which served to try impregnate the dry land.
In Slavic, as well as, of course, in many other mythologies, everything is described as wet. Whatever touches the hem of the dress worn by the goddess of fertility Mokoš remains wet . And the god of fertility and harvest Jarilo, who has been replaced with the advent of Christianity by St. George, the peoples, "Green George" walks through the cycle of the year beneath the "Tree of the world" , bringing first April dew to the grass,which was believed to germinate all plant life and have medicinal properties, the custom being for children to tread barefoot across fields trough this first mystical spring dew.
In many mythologies and so in the Slav exists a "The tree of the world" which connects three levels of creation, the underworld, earth, and the heavenly realm. Perun the supreme heavenly god of thunder and lightning brings rain to farmers by sending it to Earth from his heights atop of the "World tree", while Veles dragon-god, his antipode, is the ruler of the underworld, who rules the realm of the dead from the depths and roots of the "World Tree", and as such is associated with water, soil and moisture. Where the dead are to be found there is always water representing life, and it is interesting to note how unlike today's perception the ancestors did not separate life from death.The very name of Veles derives from indoeuropean word "Val" meaning - "pasture, meadow, land of the dead." Pasture is the place where cattle graze and beneath which live the dead ...
The author Vitomir Belaj notes in his book "Walking through the year," The roots of Slavic mythology are based on pre-indo-european models, of which unfortunately not many sources have survived as Slavs and the old Croats came to contact with Christianity at a time when they did not use a written languge, loosing most of their tradition and myth with the conversion to the new religion .
The myths can only be reconstructed scrutinising local ttraditions as one of the most important sources, and connecting fragments from folk songs, which have indeed served as the source for all the images in this exhibition. Katičić in his book "The mistress of the gates " containing these folk lyrics mentioned how the songs came from the" folk'' and writing them down produces " artificial'' poetry.
This exhibition endeavours to show how the rituals of writing artificial poetry and of painting enables man's return to nature and to himself.Trough contemporary visual and literary language Sunčica and Neva have illustrated the Slavic myths as to present it and interest the viewer in the mythology of the ancestors. Although the man of the 21st century, relies ever more in the materiality of technology, it is equally important for one not to ignore the chthonic origins from which he has come to be.
By Neva Lukić
Contacts Neva Lukic- neva.lukic@gmail.com
Ben Romberg - http://www.soundcloud.com/ben-romberg
Suncica- Sunci.on.stage@gmail.com
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