An exhibition of works by artist from Rijeka, Melita Sorola Stančić, was open in the art pavilion Juraj Šporer in the period from December 21st of 2007 until January 12th of 2008. This exhibition represents a recent meditation on the subject of transience or the frequency of arrivals and departures, constant motion and endless waiting, as well as the repetition of the same archetype, ever-present in people from the coast, indelibly linked to the sea.
The movement of ships that we track until they leave our field of vision truly inspires a yearning – the ship’s greeting is suddenly muted above the city, suggesting distance. However, the incessant repetition of departures, each lasting only a few minutes, evokes the feeling of an unrealized trip, forbidden pleasures, an awkward return to quotidian life. The reason for this is found in the editing, the sudden cuts which always brutally interrupt the smooth exit to the open sea, but also in the raw material photographed from a static position. In spite of the clear context – the familiar landscape of the Rijeka port (ships Marco Polo and Liburnija) and the intimate life of the author, The Ship must be interpreted as an intuitive articulation of accumulated emotional material. The author does also touch upon the female archetype in the seafaring tradition in the Croatian Littoral – in these parts, women had always been waiting in solitude, which is not referenced directly in this case, especially considering the obvious and fundamental socio-economic changed in the lives of sailors and the infinitely greater socialization of the female. Consequently, in the modern society, this phenomenon has an entirely new meaning which will not be discussed here (ethnologic subjects belong in another text). Instead, Melita talks about waiting which is irritating, to say the least. However, she instinctively sublimates it into a detailed time record, following regular shooting intervals: the photographs were taken at 4:30 p.m. in the period from the winter to the summer solstice, which is also the name of the opus, and the departures of passenger ships every Friday in a one or two year period. In this manner, she achieves two seeming opposites: an appearance of ignoring longevity and a particular focus on the consistent structure of time, as if that is of utmost importance, paradoxically emphasizing the slow passage of time.
(Sabina Salamon, from the exhibition catalogue)
The exhibition was co financed by the City of Rijeka.
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