The project LYMPHA was inspired by my grandfather’s vintage stamp collection. It depicted a model of the world dominated by national prophets, great leaders, enlightened sages, scientists and artists. It reflected a social and cultural system in which men held a dominant position of power and women were marginalized. Commonly perpetuated images concealed a coded disparity and a multidimensional paradox.
Referring to the Jungian concept of human development, I draw attention to the need to find the balance through a combination of opposites. In Chinese philosophy, the female aspect is identified with darkness, coldness and the Moon, while the male aspect – with activity, warmth and the Sun. Complementing them is a holistic view of the forces acting in nature. Unlike Eastern culture, which seeks unity in the different, in Western culture dualism separates matter from spirit, reason from emotion, male from female, life from death. This separation promotes detachment from nature and weakens the well-being of both sexes. A body subjected to constant stress and difficult emotions succumbs to disease. The stereotypes, shame, anger and sadness are slowly poisoning the soul and body. This is countered by the female element. It is like lymph, which, unlike pumped blood, squeezes through the vessels using muscles. It circulates below the surface, affecting the immune system of the entire body. According to insightful Jungian Marion Woodman, this invisible force “The feminine side of our existence lives with a slower rhythm, is less rational. It moves with more spontaneity, is more open, accepts life as it is, without judgment.”
The choice of technique was not accidental, in the cyanotype technique I find the poetry of the coexistence of duality. An image emerges from darkness through direct light. It is created without the use of a camera. Under the influence of the sun rays, the hand-prepared collage is written on the light-sensitive substance-coated paper. The artworks are varied; in the process of toning they gain a unique hue. Similarly, in pursuit of balance between the opposing forces, through deconstruction and redefinition of the system of values, I see an opportunity for a world, which offers diversity and choice, rather than uniformity and necessity.
