Bulgaria: August 2013
<- Mural in progress in Gorna Lipnitsa village, Bulgaria.
I was very privileged to be selected for an international residency,: The Old School residency in Bulgaria making a wall painting on the theme of 'ritual'.
This mural depicts two forms of magic, Bulgarian rituals to dispel the the plague 'Chuma' (seen as an old and ugly woman). The Chuma comes from village to village bringing the plague. She is often accompanied by children and carries a bow and arrow to shoot down her victims and take them to the afterlife.
There are several ways to appease or distract the plague: Chuma, and she is very susceptible to bribery.
One is to offer her loaves smeared with honey which in the mural was not enough for the greedy plague, as she carries them with her. Another technique is distraction. Millet seeds are placed on the steps of an important house in the village with the idea that they will distract the oncoming sickness with the counting of them, and that she will not enter.
A young ghost child is depicted in the painting pulling the Chuma by the hair slowly away from the families of the village.
Ghosts visit at night and are often seen in the form of a child on a baby animal. I have chosen a deer, as deer are often symbolised as being a transitional animal on the borders of the spirit world.
In the second part of the mural another ritual is being performed; the ritual of the ‘live fire’.
This must be performed by two people who are twins, naked, at full moon.
The rub together two sticks from one of the sacred trees: juniper, linden, hazel, beech, ash, or willow trees (In this one is beech, and they grow above in a forest; a sacred place, at midnight) to create a spark of flame which lightens the borders between the worlds of the living and dead.
I have made the style quite simple and fairytale-like as it is in its nature as a wall painting a gift to the people of the village and they must all therefore children through to old age be able to understand the forms and have the opportunity to relate to it.
I was very privileged to be selected for an international residency,: The Old School residency in Bulgaria making a wall painting on the theme of 'ritual'.
This mural depicts two forms of magic, Bulgarian rituals to dispel the the plague 'Chuma' (seen as an old and ugly woman). The Chuma comes from village to village bringing the plague. She is often accompanied by children and carries a bow and arrow to shoot down her victims and take them to the afterlife.
There are several ways to appease or distract the plague: Chuma, and she is very susceptible to bribery.
One is to offer her loaves smeared with honey which in the mural was not enough for the greedy plague, as she carries them with her. Another technique is distraction. Millet seeds are placed on the steps of an important house in the village with the idea that they will distract the oncoming sickness with the counting of them, and that she will not enter.
A young ghost child is depicted in the painting pulling the Chuma by the hair slowly away from the families of the village.
Ghosts visit at night and are often seen in the form of a child on a baby animal. I have chosen a deer, as deer are often symbolised as being a transitional animal on the borders of the spirit world.
In the second part of the mural another ritual is being performed; the ritual of the ‘live fire’.
This must be performed by two people who are twins, naked, at full moon.
The rub together two sticks from one of the sacred trees: juniper, linden, hazel, beech, ash, or willow trees (In this one is beech, and they grow above in a forest; a sacred place, at midnight) to create a spark of flame which lightens the borders between the worlds of the living and dead.
I have made the style quite simple and fairytale-like as it is in its nature as a wall painting a gift to the people of the village and they must all therefore children through to old age be able to understand the forms and have the opportunity to relate to it.
Romania: August 2010
I was selected to take part in a residency in Sibiu, Romania in 2010; in an EU funded residency working for one month with two traditional Bulgarian artists making Moldovan native masks used in rural communities in New Years ritual celebrations. and traditional painted glass icons in the unique style of this district. We also made eco-jewellery with recycled computer parts-bringing the old and new Romania together through art.
In tradition, the masks depict human and animal figures from Bulgarian life: the goat, the bull, the peasant., the gypsy.
In tradition, the masks depict human and animal figures from Bulgarian life: the goat, the bull, the peasant., the gypsy.