Zori

RAC, Brașov, Ro, curator Ada Muntean

Zori’s work is part of the “Zestre” project, although based on autobiographical research, was born as a finding of individual existential drama, which, in a moody manner, defines the modern individual. Returning to the village of childhood, an isolated village, once loaded with traditions and customs, I found a place almost empty, covered with thistles. This Valley of Tears, longing for what it was, arose as a result of globalization, or the migration of the population to the urban environment. I have associated this identity crisis with the uniformization and dilution of regional or local defining elements, or with the separation from places of origin where generations have been perpetuated. Zori has as a central element, a clay pot belonging to my great-grandmother. On this subject, I wrote, in the Braille alphabet, a part of a lament. The embossing points defining the Braille alphabet have been replaced with thorns. This makes text reading impossible. The thorns come from acacia and briers which have covered the orchards that were harvested in the past. The dawn song is a lament in the Oltenia area. These sad songs were sung with a certain ritual to the dead, just before the burial. By decontextualizing objects that for almost hundreds of years did not break the area where they were created, I have tried not only a symbolic connection, but also a physical-spiritual connection of the audience with the privacy of the personal past.