Sweat, tears or the sea - DARIJA ŽMAK KUNIĆ

Reflecting on the relationships and interactions that define us, we often associate our behavior and reasoning with the experience of growing up. Psychological studies associate the beginnings of human relationships with attachment, a unique form of socio-emotional connection and a behavior pattern adopted through evolution. This same connection represents the initial association with clear direction and need for a mother, who is responsible for shaping one's experiences and perceptions of life and the world in adulthood. The feminine principle and energy and the role of mother are crucial for physical, emotional and spiritual development. They are pivotal for the integration of qualities like safety, stability and coherence into one's system of actions.

 

After losing her mother, the person who significantly influenced her life, Darija engages in cathartic processes that would result in the establishment of new artistic values. She inscribes these into her mother's fabrics, turning them into a permanent reminiscence to her mother's touches and existence. Just as Aristotle describes it, catharsis evokes fear and pity, purifying our feelings and states, which leads to liberation and acceptance. Therefore, Darija transforms the act of dealing with her pain into a healing practice of tearing, tying, knitting and coloring. In this manner, she transfers this emotional legacy into delicate watercolor paintings, art objects and a video installation. The exhibited artworks encapsulate the essence of an intimate narrative rooted in personal introspection, profound closeness and shared resilience, as the results of creative potentials embedded in each piece.

Focusing on the character of her prematurely deceased mother, Darija draws inspiration for her artworks from her legacy and materializes the concepts of the private/inherited/public. In an effort to evoke her mother's presence, she remodels various sewing fabrics from her mother's closet into artifacts, giving them new life, strength and role.

Darija has been studying the phenomenon of female archetype for many years. At the beginning, she defined it as a principle, a set of "rules" belonging to the true female (arche)type. Over time, the accumulation of experience, knowledge and information, as well as the expression of the collective unconscious through images, ideas and emotions, enabled her to transcend the ideas and frameworks of the established principle. In her work today, she asserts that each of us embodies both masculine and feminine principles. Yet, what defines us is not individual archetypes or their dualities, but the interplay of our dark sides (temptations, shortcomings and weaknesses) and light sides (strengths, virtues and values).

The title of the exhibition is inspired by Karen Blixen's My Africa ("The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea"). Through this, the artist suggests that healing comes through hard physical work, deep personal analysis and abandonment to (in)visible forces.