Shamai Grin: The Reflection of Gratitude, an audio-visual presentation
POSTCARDS
The concept: Nature needs help! At the moment when Nature is subordinated to the systems which she powers, and the children she gave birth to are separated in search of many treasures which they turn into injuries, she cries out for understanding, support and reciprocal interaction. The Reflection of Gratitude is an interactive audio-visual installation by the artistic duo ‘Shamai Grin’ (‘Green Sisters‘ in Japanese) that uses contemporary materials intertwined with local flora as a mirror of the environment in which it is located, observing the multiplicity of local identities through the past, present, and future of the ecosystem, as well as the positive and negative impacts of humans on the biosphere. The installation serves as an indication of the possibility of connecting old and new, alloy and raw material, human and wind in the desire for a system that goes beyond human centrism and strives for balance.
In addition to the multitude of segments that serve to engage the critical mind of passers-by, The Reflection of Gratitude also has a clear aesthetic function, placed as an intervention in the old urban structure that highlights the beauty of the “ordinary” island vegetation, which is oftentimes overlooked. The artists intervene by setting up large metal plates with sometimes organic, sometimes strict contours, as a representation of transience and decay, but also the beauty of the moment, with the idea of showing how the human desire to control materials and the environment can function if the balance of elements is respected. In the installation interpolated into the architecture of Jelsa’s street, places of passage and gathering, weather changes like the wind create a soundscape with the clanging of metal elements, which allow nature to announce itself to man with an unexpected ringing sound somewhere above, telling the story of the island, but also reminding how joint action is not just a dream and that nature responds only if we call out.
The exhibition is part of The Postcards Project, which aims to encourage research and evaluation of lesser-known elements of the local heritage of Jelsa and the island of Hvar and their (re)interpretation outside of the usual tourist-commercial narrative. Using the idea of a postcard as a format for presenting a place to “others”, the aim is to strengthen the sense of local identity based on the richness of one’s own cultural and natural heritage, traditions, relationships and community practices that contribute to their preservation. The program takes place as concept development and precursor to the Jelsa Art Biennial 2023.
About the authors: Shamai Grin is a Zagreb artistic duo consisting of two graphic designers, Jelena Šangarelo and Dina Šavorić. The brand integrates the principles of aesthetics using plants, primarily dealing with the creation of self-sustaining terrariums, art installations and education in which they strive to make the public aware of the importance of plant life in everyday life.
Collaborators: Kristina Lazaneo, Josipa Slaviček
Curator: curatorial collective LAB852 (Karmen Krasić Kožul, Jelena Mićić, Marija Kamber)
Author of the text: Marija Kamber
Production: LAB852, Sustainable Island, Jelsa Art Biennial,
Program partners: Magic Carpets, Jelsa Municipal Museum, Jelsa Municipal Library
Co-funding: Creative Europe Programme of the EU, Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb, Municipality of Jelsa
Communication support: Jelsa Tourist Board, Kulturflux
