Constellating Spirit: Mother Line 2023
video, spacial installation
Croatian conceptual artist Andrea Resner has prepared an installation called Constellating Spirit: Mother Line for the Gardening of Soul exhibition at the Ústí nad Labem House of Arts, which expresses her long-standing interest in exploring the field of female creativity related to dreams, mythology, symbols, and the magical and intuitive relationship to reality, especially nature. In her work, there is a direct and deeply experienced influence of nature that shapes her worldview and aesthetic attitudes, which she attempts to transfer to the artificial, closed environment of the gallery. Thus, she negates the boundary between the natural and the artistic (architectural) dimension and makes the exhibition space a completely contemplative realm. Her refined artistic sensibility is manifested in the subtlety of the presented work, which, however, also evokes intense emotions in the viewers, as it opens up unexpected frameworks for thinking about our connection with nature and the environment in general. A completely specific and original relationship to flora and fauna, a sense of indistinct currents, and an emphasis on the exchange and interaction of life forces that connect the entire universe are the fundamental driving forces behind Andrea Resner’s creativity.
This is manifested through a refined site-specific multimedia form combining diverse means of expression – drawing, experimental film and animation, spatial installation, performance, costume design and also poetry. The captivating environment has an aesthetic charge that offers gallery visitors a glimpse beyond the everyday, into the realms of the “natural state of things”, where the connection between man and environment is completely harmonious and coherent. Such a somewhat utopian orientation can be seen as completely legitimate and relevant today, as it warns against an unacceptable and unbalanced relationship between man and the environment, with global consequences that are increasingly being felt. Nevertheless, the overall atmosphere of Andrea Resner’s installations still exudes a calming, almost therapeutic effect that is far from insignificant in today’s context.
Her story unfolding in mysterious, energetic situations leads us in many unexpected directions and to places where everything is possible and where we can almost feel the presence of invisible fairies, elves and benevolent nature spirits. The artist’s determination to stimulate visitors, to allow them to experience on multiple levels of perception, goes beyond the realm of fine art and requires much more from the observer – total participation and spiritual concentration. The result of such surrender is an innovative experience of a world that seems fresh and infinite, as if it were pulsating again in its vitality and truly “brimming with love”.