SLAVICA
JANEŠLIEVA – GRAFTING
Multimedia
Center Mala Stanica,
October 2007
Zlatko Teodosievski
1.
The phenomenon of refugees/refuge is one of the so called eternal issues and themes which both literally and absolutely communicate with the civilization codes of human existence. Essential existential and also moral, philosophical, sociological and various other aspects and consequences of man's destiny directly transgress and unite in it. At the same time the refugees theme isdistant to any possible rational comprehension, because it is an extremely emotional and distressful issue which hardly anyone can face with a ready-made defence mechanism of indifference or be cool-headed to it. The reason for such responses is basically because exile and refuge are mainly experienced, endured and felt through the prism of collective tragedies and exoduses, through images and pictures of lines of tormented, warn out and miserable old people, women and children – through images that make indifference impossible!
The phenomenon of refugees/refuge is one of the so called eternal issues and themes which both literally and absolutely communicate with the civilization codes of human existence. Essential existential and also moral, philosophical, sociological and various other aspects and consequences of man's destiny directly transgress and unite in it. At the same time the refugees theme isdistant to any possible rational comprehension, because it is an extremely emotional and distressful issue which hardly anyone can face with a ready-made defence mechanism of indifference or be cool-headed to it. The reason for such responses is basically because exile and refuge are mainly experienced, endured and felt through the prism of collective tragedies and exoduses, through images and pictures of lines of tormented, warn out and miserable old people, women and children – through images that make indifference impossible!
Room 1: five wall projections.
On the other hand, should we relate the entire (known) history of mankind to the exile syndrome? Should we treat and interpret Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden as an act of (indirect) exile? Since, after all, refuge is very often only a reactionto a previous action i.e. to exile, we can simply say that this is definitely a Biblical theme which strongly supports its eternityaspect. And what's more, the First Bookalong with the Eden Story, abounds incolourful and convincing elaborations of thiscrucial topic and also in some more drastic examples – the prosecution and exile of the Jews from Egypt, the exile/refuge of the Christians from Israel … thus, convincing us that the history of mankind is actually ahistory of exile and refuge.
But even the more exciting real world, reflected in some actual events from our distant or more recent past abounds in more cruel examples of actions and reactions to exile and refuge: Luis XIV's Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685 [1], the Soviet Revolution in 1917 [2], the so calledArmenian genocide in 1915-1917 [3], thehorrors and the holocaust during the SecondWorld War, the formation of the state of Israel in 1948, the Arab -Israeli wars [4] and so on.
And,
inspite of the shocking historical experiences, the situation with refugees of
today has not improved much. According to the UNCHR reports, the number of
refugees in the world at the beginning of 2006 was 8,4 million! Approximately
80% of the refugees are always women and children.
Room 2: detail.
The reasons for these incredibly painful and, as a rule, always extremely bloody acts and events are various. They could be: religious, territorial, ideological, racial, etc. While the actual reasons and causes always seem to be inexplicably different, both the methods and the outcomes are always the same! The final outcome always seems to be a copy of the same matrix: blood and tears, dead and displaced people, split up families and reshaped destinies, terrible personal and collective dramas and tragedies, thousands of dislocated lives.
2.
The Macedonian historical experience is familiar with the exile/refuge issue. This issue has affected various aspects of our existence and lives: both our country and our nation have directly been subjected to refugegenocide, as well as our territory on which a number of refugees crises have taken place. Yet the world historical memory is, more or less, ignorant of these tragic Macedonian experiences, because in almost all different searchings and rereadings of possible refugees crisis spots in the world history, there is hardy any mention of Macedonia or it is being mentioned only in a marginal way.
The Macedonian historical experience is familiar with the exile/refuge issue. This issue has affected various aspects of our existence and lives: both our country and our nation have directly been subjected to refugegenocide, as well as our territory on which a number of refugees crises have taken place. Yet the world historical memory is, more or less, ignorant of these tragic Macedonian experiences, because in almost all different searchings and rereadings of possible refugees crisis spots in the world history, there is hardy any mention of Macedonia or it is being mentioned only in a marginal way.
Room 2: detail. Digital prints, selfadhesive foil, stencil, hair, wooden box, 3 VHS players & monitors.
This especially
refers to the theme of this particular art project-the tragic Macedonian
refugees exodus at the end of the Civil war in Greece, i.e. in 1948-1949, which
in the popular and easily accessible “sources” of today (such as Internet) is
simply not mentioned or is often reduced to a few euphemisms such as: deportation,
relocation, transportation of families or children with
no indication of their ethnic origin. On the other hand, there are numerous
sources in which the truth is being altered by naming these refugees, and
especially the children Greek children transformed into fanatic
Macedonians[5]. Although the stated numbers, surprisingly and
strangely enough, do vary – some reach up to 700.000 refugees[6] and others emphasize the number of children
refugees – 28.296 [7] – it is obvious that this refugees' exodus was
definitely an extremely terrible and tragic event, which in the middle of the
20th century took place in the Balkans.
On the other hand, although this is hardly an appropriate moment for such an elaboration, it is important that we ask ourselves the following questions: What have we done and in what way have we contributed for a better and more thorough documentation, interpretation, clarification and public presentation of these events.
On the other hand, although this is hardly an appropriate moment for such an elaboration, it is important that we ask ourselves the following questions: What have we done and in what way have we contributed for a better and more thorough documentation, interpretation, clarification and public presentation of these events.
3.
As it was already said at the beginning of this text, the response to this particular theme i.e. the exile/refuge issue is usually extremely emotional and just because of that we can conclude, that both at a global level and also as an actual event it is viable for a possible artistic reaction and transposition. This is probably true, but our practice, at least the Macedonian artistic practice proves just the opposite. It appears that the refugees theme, regardless of Macedonian rich historical experience, has not been frequently used as an art theme and challenge. Even it could be said that it has been surprisingly neglected and ignored.
As it was already said at the beginning of this text, the response to this particular theme i.e. the exile/refuge issue is usually extremely emotional and just because of that we can conclude, that both at a global level and also as an actual event it is viable for a possible artistic reaction and transposition. This is probably true, but our practice, at least the Macedonian artistic practice proves just the opposite. It appears that the refugees theme, regardless of Macedonian rich historical experience, has not been frequently used as an art theme and challenge. Even it could be said that it has been surprisingly neglected and ignored.
Room 2: detail.
Especially when
it refers to the theme of this particular project: the Macedonian refugees
exodus at the time of the Civil war in Greece in 1948-1949- there have not been
many serious projects in visual arts.[8] Of course, the first one that should be
mentioned is Kiril Cenevski's movie Black Seed, then a few
documentaries (such asTugleš by Kole Manev) and television films
(for example The Barriers of Greek Diplomacyby Nikola Kalajdžiski),
as well as the most recent cinematographic production The Children of
1948 by the young film director Suzana Dinevski. The attempts in fine
arts are even fewer: probably in the paintings of Kole Manev (there is
something in their atmosphere and a kind of reference) and in some sculptures
and prints by Naso Bekarovski, and that is all. [9]
4.
Probably, in order to understand better Slavica Janešlieva's undertaking, her preoccupation and her engagement with this theme more thoroughly, it is necessary to be acquainted with her previous work.
Actually, “… two things have to be emphasized about Slavica Janešlieva's artistic expression. The first thing is her impressive, captivating storytelling, the ease with which she draws all those moments/stories from her memory, “mixing” the various contexts, periods, sequences of events and situations in the best postmodernist storytelling tradition… not insisting on her own version, but allowing the viewer to compose his or her own story. The second thing that has to be mentioned is her exceptional talent for visualizing narration: memory/narration is effortlessly transformed into representation, an object, colour, materialized substance — resulting in a powerful synthesis of history/tradition and everyday life, great ideas and small things, emotions and reflections, metaphors and meanings.”[10]“In fact, Janešlieva s entire artistic work up to now — prints, installations, objects, etc. — adheres mainly to the general modalities of what is known as the “art in the first person,” or more precisely, to the domain of “inter-subjectivity” and the (self)-reflexivness. This means that all of her projects — in an almost continuous, rather personal story — are linked in a kind of self-referential system composed of segmented stories with an intimate/family background. In this context, the intimate/family elements can be regarded as a substitute for those of general/social nature, as an “escape” from this specific or similar social reality, although in their very essence they are deeply connected with some important (traditional, moral…) dilemmas of the global environment.”[11]
Probably, in order to understand better Slavica Janešlieva's undertaking, her preoccupation and her engagement with this theme more thoroughly, it is necessary to be acquainted with her previous work.
Actually, “… two things have to be emphasized about Slavica Janešlieva's artistic expression. The first thing is her impressive, captivating storytelling, the ease with which she draws all those moments/stories from her memory, “mixing” the various contexts, periods, sequences of events and situations in the best postmodernist storytelling tradition… not insisting on her own version, but allowing the viewer to compose his or her own story. The second thing that has to be mentioned is her exceptional talent for visualizing narration: memory/narration is effortlessly transformed into representation, an object, colour, materialized substance — resulting in a powerful synthesis of history/tradition and everyday life, great ideas and small things, emotions and reflections, metaphors and meanings.”[10]“In fact, Janešlieva s entire artistic work up to now — prints, installations, objects, etc. — adheres mainly to the general modalities of what is known as the “art in the first person,” or more precisely, to the domain of “inter-subjectivity” and the (self)-reflexivness. This means that all of her projects — in an almost continuous, rather personal story — are linked in a kind of self-referential system composed of segmented stories with an intimate/family background. In this context, the intimate/family elements can be regarded as a substitute for those of general/social nature, as an “escape” from this specific or similar social reality, although in their very essence they are deeply connected with some important (traditional, moral…) dilemmas of the global environment.”[11]
Room 3: detail.
Therefore,
this project by Janešlieva is actually an other one in the line of her recent
engaged responses and artistic engagements i.e. her
own personal perceptions andcomments on eternal issues which are
always bitterly provocative and, as a rule, of a broad spectrum.
This, on the other hand, to some people might seem a tedious moralizing which
consequently has nothing to do with art per se. Of course this is not the case,
especially when it refers to an artist such as Janešlieva is. This is so
because Slavica does not lecture, she does not preach or send messages. She
leaves that to the less inventive ones. Within herself, Janešlieva
actually carries the theme, carries and suffers the pain,
makes it grow and ripenin her until it becomes a solid concept, a
concept with a precise idea and a formulated vision. Thus, in this concept of
hers, there is no room for cheap moralizing or banal flattering!
Within the context of Macedonian exile/refuge theme Janešlieva's motive and artistic challenge, at first glance might appear unclear (if really a motive is needed for an art creation). What is the reason for her interest, curiosity and her preoccupation with this particular and, to put it openly, even today insufficiently investigated, researched and complex theme, and still, strangely enough – unknown and problematic story? Actually, there are no secrets but the challenge is in the complexity of the theme, in it still being blocked, in its catastrophic dimensions, in the incredible destinies of the refugees, in…! A dozen other reasons could also be mentioned, but the most essential ones among them certainly are the following ones: the need that the story should be given a voice, the need for it to be made known, the need to become public … the need to be appropriately dimensioned both in historical and artistic way; the necessity that both the world as well as we ourselves often openly and truly face the cruel reality. Certainly, the crucial question that should be asked is: how has it come and what are the reasons that both history and the world know almost everything about all other exoduses and know almost nothing about this particular one? Thus, as Benjamin has noted that “The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again… For every image of the past that is not recognized by the present as one of its own concerns threatens to disappear irretrievably.”, it seems that Janešlieva wants to seize some images, tofreeze them just for a second, temporarily to save them from disappearing – at least until we understand them better or pay them the due respect.
Within the context of Macedonian exile/refuge theme Janešlieva's motive and artistic challenge, at first glance might appear unclear (if really a motive is needed for an art creation). What is the reason for her interest, curiosity and her preoccupation with this particular and, to put it openly, even today insufficiently investigated, researched and complex theme, and still, strangely enough – unknown and problematic story? Actually, there are no secrets but the challenge is in the complexity of the theme, in it still being blocked, in its catastrophic dimensions, in the incredible destinies of the refugees, in…! A dozen other reasons could also be mentioned, but the most essential ones among them certainly are the following ones: the need that the story should be given a voice, the need for it to be made known, the need to become public … the need to be appropriately dimensioned both in historical and artistic way; the necessity that both the world as well as we ourselves often openly and truly face the cruel reality. Certainly, the crucial question that should be asked is: how has it come and what are the reasons that both history and the world know almost everything about all other exoduses and know almost nothing about this particular one? Thus, as Benjamin has noted that “The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again… For every image of the past that is not recognized by the present as one of its own concerns threatens to disappear irretrievably.”, it seems that Janešlieva wants to seize some images, tofreeze them just for a second, temporarily to save them from disappearing – at least until we understand them better or pay them the due respect.
Room 3: 3 wood-cases, soil, 5 grafted trees, cotton bandages, selfadhesive foil, VHS player & monitor.
The concept of
the project Grafting is polysemantic and multi-layered. The
leitmotif is the exile theme – the exodus of Macedonian families during the Civil
war in Greece 1946-1949, but around it Janešlievaweaves several
crucial threads and aspects. Therefore she organizes the visual part of the
project in the following way:
The first point obviously is the distressing, endless, tragic… the eternal line of refugees which in continuo, like a perpetuum mobile, moves through human history. This is the Macedonian part of Hell, the Aegean exodus, the line of Macedonian refugees trying to escape the cleansing carried out by the war hordes. A few women…“lead the children and make them count stars so that they would not fall asleep. The children make a wish and count the stars, but their only wish is to be left to sleep… They tightly hold the edges of their mothers' skirts and count stars”.[12]This is an extract from a novel on the Aegean exodus, but it could refer to any other refugees from other countries: to refugees from Palestine or Sudan, from Afghanistan or Iraq, refugees from Myanmar or… etc. But, the essence is the same. Only thescenography and the costimography are different. There are lines of silent destinies which exhaustingly move along untrodden areas, lines of people who had left everything behind and are looking ahead to nothing. This is just the beginning, their entry into their enormous future emptiness and nothingness, in their new dislocations, new resettlements and adaptations in unknown lands and among unknown people…!
The first point obviously is the distressing, endless, tragic… the eternal line of refugees which in continuo, like a perpetuum mobile, moves through human history. This is the Macedonian part of Hell, the Aegean exodus, the line of Macedonian refugees trying to escape the cleansing carried out by the war hordes. A few women…“lead the children and make them count stars so that they would not fall asleep. The children make a wish and count the stars, but their only wish is to be left to sleep… They tightly hold the edges of their mothers' skirts and count stars”.[12]This is an extract from a novel on the Aegean exodus, but it could refer to any other refugees from other countries: to refugees from Palestine or Sudan, from Afghanistan or Iraq, refugees from Myanmar or… etc. But, the essence is the same. Only thescenography and the costimography are different. There are lines of silent destinies which exhaustingly move along untrodden areas, lines of people who had left everything behind and are looking ahead to nothing. This is just the beginning, their entry into their enormous future emptiness and nothingness, in their new dislocations, new resettlements and adaptations in unknown lands and among unknown people…!
Room 3: detail.
If the first story is, (at
least it seems to be), general and global and also anonymousand
collective, the second set, is partly,personalized and gives it its
identity! Here, the line of refugees is already being identified; it gradually
becomes recognizable because of the direct participants in the exodus, i.e. the
former children refugees and their own stories. Here the silhouettes from the
line are being personalized: now they have their names and surnames… their own
voices and hands. Nevertheless Janešlieva's aim is not to inform us in detail
about the characters in this story in order to know them better, since that
would turn it into a piece of literature or a movie. She is looking for
something else; she searches after and manages to find a different visual
poetics. The individuals and their stories are the background on which
Janešlieva follows othertraces and signs. Or to be more precise, by
organizing this particular segment of the story in several separate video
and/or photo stories and sequences, Janešlieva focuses her, (but also our own)
attention not so much on the narrators themselves, but onparts of
their body, i.e. on some important details in their stories as elements that
might initiate new stories! For instance the hands(referring
to the fact that the age of the children refugees used to be determined by
their hand bones; then the hair (which, as a rule, for
preventive reasons was cut at the arrival of the refugees at their
destination), and so on!
Room 3: detail.
The
third segment of the project, i.e. the third story actually is
the end of the unknown journey or the expected new beginning! To
put it more precisely – although uprooted from their birth places (and also
often from their parents and close relatives) in a terrible way and by force,
both the refugee children as well as the older ones had been simply expected to
proceed with their livessomewhere there in a foreign land, in an
unknown environment, as if nothing had happened! Janešlieva, actually, tests this
thesis by comparing the refugees story to grafting young trees, i.e. she
compares the artificial implantation of children from one land
to an other one with the equivalent artificial grafting, a transplanting of
one kind of plant into an other one! And, this old and many times
tested grafting technique, as a rule, does function in practice. Young
branches like young children, as a rule, accept the graft, they grow and
spread, at least it appears so according to the plan of their
grafter. Since human species, like young trees are a tough sort! The question
is only what remains inside and in what way – what kind of
bruises and marks are left in the tree rings – in the people's souls and
memories!
5.
Room 1: detail.
Reminding us of the events that took
place under the dark sky above the Aegean region[13] not so long ago, Janešlieva (symbolically) and
both for us pays back the dept to the Aegean epos. Not letting the
moment of enlightment be just a flash and the past become just an
irretrievable flow instantly perceived, but lost in eternity, she precisely and
emotionally creates her own angle of perception. The timing is probably
perfect, because many issues concerning human, cultural and other rights of
Macedonians in the region are now being reopened. The Aegean exodus – an event
unbelievable even in Biblical terms[14] is an important part of the complex refugees
issues.
_____________________________________
1. By this Edict Protestantism was forbidden by law and
this practically caused a relocation by force of approximately 500.000 Protestants
(i.e. Hugenotes) from France to other lands in Europe.
2. It caused the exile of approximately 1.500.000 refugees, mostly in some Eropean countries.
3. It caused a displacement from Turkey of approximately one million Armenians.
4. Some assessments indicate that approximately two million people (Palestinians, Jews and others) were displaced in that period.
2. It caused the exile of approximately 1.500.000 refugees, mostly in some Eropean countries.
3. It caused a displacement from Turkey of approximately one million Armenians.
4. Some assessments indicate that approximately two million people (Palestinians, Jews and others) were displaced in that period.
5. Lagani, Irene. The Removal of the Greek
Children and the Greek-Yugoslav Relations, 1949-1953-a Critical
Approach.-Athens: I. Sderis, 1966.
6. Greece – Civil War, Library of Congress Country Studies.
7. Courtois, Stephane and all. The Black Book of Communism. – Cambridge, MA: H.U.P., 1999.
6. Greece – Civil War, Library of Congress Country Studies.
7. Courtois, Stephane and all. The Black Book of Communism. – Cambridge, MA: H.U.P., 1999.
8. Differently enough, this theme is frequently treated
in Macedonian contemporary literature in the works of a number of prominent
Macedonian writers such as: Taško Georgievski, Petar Širilov, Ivan Čapovski,
Kata Misirkova, Paskal Gilevski, Taško Širilov, Kica Bardžieva-Kolbe and others.
9. In this context, although indirectly related to the Macedonian variant of this theme, we should mention the exibition “Artists and Refugees” (currator Melentie Pandilovski) held at Skopje City Museum in 1999.
10. Teodosievski, Zlatko. Janešlieva (a catalogue) – Skopje: Macedonian National Gallery, 2005, pp. 13.
9. In this context, although indirectly related to the Macedonian variant of this theme, we should mention the exibition “Artists and Refugees” (currator Melentie Pandilovski) held at Skopje City Museum in 1999.
10. Teodosievski, Zlatko. Janešlieva (a catalogue) – Skopje: Macedonian National Gallery, 2005, pp. 13.
11. Ibid., pp. 3.
12. Andreevski, Petre. Nebeska Timjanova –
Skopje, “Dnevnik/Tabernakul”, 2007, p. 152.
No comments:
Post a Comment