Elementals

“No mortal thing has a beginning, nor does it end in death and obliteration; there is only a mixing and then separating of what was mixed, but by mortal men these processes are named “beginnings.” Empedocles 495 bc -435 bc

The multimedia art project titled Elementals is a collaboration of three artists- a sculptor Nikola Radonjic, a composer Slobodanka Bobana Dabovic Djuric, and a butoh dance performance artist Bojana Popadic, all from Montenegro, former Yugoslavia. It is based on the research of the studies created by antic Greek philosophers Plato and Empedocles, as well as the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. The exhibition consists of 5 installations of the Platonic solids that are in fact regular, convex polyhedron: tetrahedron (or pyramid), hexahedron (cube), octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron, that all represent the basic elements fire, earth, water, air and Universe. Each of the solid is accompanied with a musical composition representing each of the elements. Under the fifth element- dodecahedron related to the Universe- a butoh dance performance is occurring, representing the creation, the way it was described by Plato (Demiurge, the Creator of the Universe has brought order into chaos, however it has not finished its work by creating a human being- instead it has left to his helpers to finish the job. Thus there were mistakes in creation and the human beings are left with two souls- one mortal and one immortal one). The exhibition portrays a simulation of the universe and intends to provide possible answers to the creation of the humankind and all living creatures.
The project was initiated by Nikola whose scope of work includes metaphysics and philosophy transformed into sculptures, reliefs, installations, and who is very much inspired by the Plato’s 5 basic elements in his work. The initial inspiration for the research in this area was the book coauthored by Carl Gustav Jung “Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon” in which the four elements (without universe) all have conscious entities called Elementals. The connection of those entities resembles the Plato’s solids which with their geometrical beauty seem to construct an energetic organism. The artist creates his own 5 platonic solids of wood, metal and light, which form a construction basis for the simulation of the universe. The composer creates unique pieces of music for each of the platonic solids in order to describe the energy and power of the Fire, the strength of the Earth, the vibrations and flow of the Water, and the presence of the Air. The disharmony and yet the total balance of the four elements result in the fifth- Universe, that is actually an echo of the entire living existence. She composes using postmodern techniques, without regulation, creating music that is not based on tonic, so that there are no limits in the rhythm and melody, and the instruments are free to experiment with. Thus the music consists of ambience expression combined with various sounds, in order to try to present something much greater and divine. The living material is presented through a performance- the naissance of life in a symbolic egg (as the Universe itself is constructed as an egg, according to Plato), the birthing, breathing, awakening, and in the end the sorrow for the mortality. The mankind is aware that they possess the mortal soul as they are constantly challenged by the passions (sadness, sorrow, pain, evil, cravings, hope, erotic intentions, desire etc). Only the mind can create an order so that the man can aspire to the Beauty and the Good in order to overcome these passions. However, the mankind cannot liberate themselves from the mortality and are always aware of their unfortunate existence. That is why the performance is portraying the struggle of the humankind of the two souls and domination of the mortal one.
There are many symbols in the exhibition- the elements can be found not only in the installation and music but in the combination of the three media used- the solid (the installations), the living (the performance) and the spiritual (the music), including the costume created for the performance- a membrane representing an egg that also stands as the symbol of fertility, eternity, creation, life etc; threads for the life, umbilical cord, blood, veins etc. The 5 basic elements form matrixes that create Life, and are the ground for geometry, science, and sacred geometry. The matrixes formed can be found everywhere around us, in all of the living and material creations, even in music that uses the mathematical formulas and vibrations laws in order to reach the human emotions.

Writer: Bojana Popadić