INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE TORTOISE’S SHELL: THE TOPOI OF HOPE IN A VANISHING WORLD
INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE TORTOISE’S SHELL: THE TOPOI OF HOPE IN A VANISHING WORLD
The rooted impression radiating from the painting cycle Inscriptions from the Tortoise’s Shell: The Topoi of Hope in a Vanishing World by calligrapher and painter Sonja Jukić from Split indicates that these are contemporary stories originating from ancient traditions. The presented works of fairly large formats in the technique of aquarelle and Chinese ink on rice paper are opening up to philosophic dialogue, with exhilarating flutter, once again confirming that Sonja Jukić is distinguished by an ardent and permeable sense for artistic forensics of the Zeitgeist. When the fine arts expression reaches the magical stage of meditation in motion – a self-explanatory calligraphic canon – that childlike naivete of perception immediately awakens in us, leaving us mesmerised before the portended truths of clandestine worlds.
By pursuing her refined artistic vision, Sonja Jukić skilfully circumvents the toxic debris from the overheated mediasphere, which constantly terrorises our slight and algorithmically crumbled attention, and offers us a sincere and benevolent behest to create peace, harmony and balance in ourselves and the world around us. Hence, an appeal is made for strong thought and critical detachment from the ubiquitous infodemic which corrupts the scarce sources of genuine humanness. Performatively-wise, abstract expressionism is unleashed in the vortexes of technotronic non-nativeness; however, the risk of confusion is alleviated by the luminosity of the porous rice paper originating from the Chinese herbosphere. All arts of ancient China have drawn their inspiration from the magnificent order of nature. Calligraphy invites us to learn to write the way nature breathes. By acknowledging the dynamic balance of fuller and emptier strokes.
In its centuries-long extensiveness, the Chinese language is a kind of temple of secrets. This is a language of high Mandarin vibration in which the geopolitical propositions of this – in many ways synthetic – 21st century of ours are brusquely inscribed. It is therefore no wonder that this artistic vision of Sonja Jukić’s has also been implemented in form of a fruitful multicultural transfer. The spiritually most stimulating branch of contemporary artistic introspection introduces us to a renewed closeness to nature. After all, this is the strategy of our survival as a species, since this insatiable gliding on the wave of aggressive anthropocentrism has drawn us closer to the verge of self-destruction. It is time for a reunion with the phaenomenon of sanctity. The new inscriptions from the tortoise’s shell invite us to decipher them.
ZAPISI S KORNJAČINA OKLOPA: TOPOSI NADE U SVIJETU KOJI IŠČEZAVA
Zaglavni dojam koji zrači iz likovnog ciklusa Zapisi s kornjačina oklopa: toposi nade u svijetu koji iščezava splitske kaligrafistice i slikarice Sonje Jukić upućuje na to da je riječ o suvremenim pričama koje podrijetlo vuku iz drevnih tradicija. Prezentirani radovi ovećeg formata, u tehnici akvarela i kineskog tuša na rižinom papiru, otvaraju se filozofskom dijalogu, s lepršavošću koja opija, potvrđujući i ovom zgodom da Sonju Jukić odlikuje jedan vatreni i probojni smisao za umjetničku forenziku duha vremena. Kada likovni izričaj dosegne čarobni stadij meditacije u pokretu, što je samorazumljiv kaligrafski kanon, u nama se umah budi ona djetinja naivnost opažanja, i mi ostajemo zatravljeni, naspram jedva naslućenih istina skrovitih svjetova.
Slijedeći svoju istančanu umjetničku viziju, Sonja Jukić vješto zaobilazi toksične naplavine iz pregrijane medijasfere, koja sveudilj terorizira našu slabunjavu i algoritamski razmrvljenu pozornost, i nudi nam iskren i dobrodušan nagovor na stvaranje mira, sklada i ravnoteže u nama i svijetu oko nas. Dakle, ovdje se apelira na jaku misao, i kritički odmak od sveprisutne infodemije, koja truje oskudne izvore nepatvorene čovječnosti. Izvedbeno, apstraktni ekspresionizam se razuzdava u vorteksima tehnotronske nezavičajnosti, ali rizik od zbunjivanja odagnan je svjetlinom poroznog rižinog papira, koji potječe iz kineske herbosfere. Sve umjetnosti drevne Kine svoju inspiraciju crpe iz veličanstvenog poretka prirode. Kaligrafija nas poziva da naučimo pisati onako kako priroda diše. Uvažavajući dinamičku ravnotežu punih i praznijih poteza.
U svojoj vjekovnoj protežnosti, kineski jezik je svojevrsni hram tajne. To je jezik visoke mandarinske vibracije, na kojem se užurbano ispisuju geopolitičke propozicije ovog u mnogočemu sintetičkog 21. stoljeća. Stoga ne čudi da je i ova umjetnička vizija Sonje Jukić ostvarena u formi plodnog multikulturalnog transfera. Duhovno najpoticajniji odvojak suvremene umjetničke introspekcije uvodi nas u obnovljenu bliskost s prirodom. Uostalom, to je strategija našeg opstanka kao vrste, jer, ovo oblaporno glisiranje na valu agresivnog antropocentrizma primaknulo nas je na rub samouništenja. Vrijeme je za ponovni susret s fenomenom svetog. Novi zapisi s kornjačinog oklopa nas pozivaju da ih odgonetnemo.
Andrija Crnković