An Integration of Ancient and Contemporary Worlds – The Feather Collector by Wioletta Kulewska
Polish artist Wioletta Kulewska’s solo exhibition, The Feather Collector, is currently on show at Valletta Contemporary. Displaying her latest series of works, they mark a development from the artist’s residency at the Pedvāle Museum in Latvia (2021). Curated by Anna Stec, Kulewska’s deep interest in Baltic mythology and Latvian culture echoes almost emphatically through the gallery space. From trips to the Baltic, Eastern Mediterranean, and the Caucasus, the artist found herself investigating the previous cultures of the ancient world. Bringing home peculiar souvenirs, artifacts, or elements associated with nature from these travels, she then relied on her findings for reference in creating afterimages.
A dominating factor of the collection is the arrangement of abstract forms and colours which coincide with hidden symbology. Through this holistic approach, Kulewska has given a voice to diverse cultures and their practices, inclusive of Pagan and Proto-Indo European beliefs. By reaching for such meanings of cultural spirituality, there is also a concurrency of contemporary experimentation that stands clear in her work. The basis of Baltic mythology and Latvian civilization is that of the tandem of humans and nature which is a principle the artist longs to understand.
Between the titles of the works and the works, in essence, there exists a duality. A linguistic association and an abstract, universal language. With the formal properties as of main concern, the scope of such is for the properties to activate our intuition. The titles suggest a further understanding of her research into philosophy, archaeology, and anthropology. The triptych of The Rose, Blood and Fire, is an example of Kulewska’s plunge into mythological research, Whereas, in this case, it is the beliefs of the Baltic people. Evidence surrounding their myths, these myths exclusively found in folklore, had mentions of a hostile ground between the Saule (Sun) and Mēness (Moon). Another metaphorical expression infamous for the Baltic people was the symbol of the rose. It is a direct reference to that of the triptych. The rose was believed to have its connections to the element of fire and it was often illustrated in the shape of the morning or evening sun. Blood, also red in colour, was notably found in Lithuanian folklore, in which the blood of the dead transforms into a rose. The connection of the rose and blood to fire also signified the rite of passage from life to death.
It is with certainty that the repetition of the feather motif, whether on emblems like that of White Feather/Black Feather or Chimmeli, or denoted as representation in Kulewska’s paintings, implicates a spiritual meander. Since way back when, in diverse cultures such as that of the Native Americans, Egyptians, Celtics, and the Aborigines of Australia, encountering a feather meant to receive an important message, usually having to do with the sacred and divine.
Artworks by Wioletta Kulewska featured at Valletta Contemporary
The exhibit at Valletta Contemporary will make you ponder upon reality and the metaphysical. The works act as a junction between material objects and their potential to evoke a spiritual sublimation. The ensemble of works is dependable on the intersection between the ancient world with its path and Kulewska’s creative take, relevant, to the contemporary world of art.
Opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday: 14:00 – 19:00
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