Lenka Kubelová and Lea Culetto: Coniunctio
Snehta Residency presents a group exhibition showcasing works created during the second phase of the SAiR residency program. Featured artists include current Snehta residents Lea Culetto (Slovenia) and Lenka Kubelová (Czech Republic). The opening will be on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 19:00. The exhibition is on view until January 2, 2025.
Coniunctio is the Latin term for “the alchemical symbol of a union of unlike substances; a marrying of the OPPOSITES in an intercourse which has as its fruition the birth of a new element”.
The exhibition Coniunctio gives the viewers just an insight into Lea Culetto’s and Lenka Kubelová’s work after their interaction with the Athenian cityscape and the Greek mentality, history and culture.
Two artists working with different media, but both adopting sustainable artistic practices, using bio-materials, natural ingredients and recycling in order to produce new works which bear the traces of various traditions, myths and stories interpreted through the lens of the artists’ short stay in Athens.
ARTISTS’ STATEMENTS
Lea Culetto: Leftovers
Leftovers revolve around body waste, with focus on human hair. I'm fascinated with bodily traces we humans leave behind, knowingly or unknowingly. Hair is historically associated with memory and power, often evoking different emotions. In the course of my second SAiR residency, this time at Snehta, I focused on the history of hair and its connection to myths, fairytales and magic. During my research, various stories and symbols were discovered, through them I'm trying to understand the meaning of hair or rather what they represent, which always has a dual connotation: it is both alive and dead. Strong and fragile. Can be long or short. Lush or sparse. It also evokes contrasting feelings of cherish and/or disgust. It implies strength or weakness. Beauty or sickness. It can simultaneously be seductive or repulsive…
Lenka Kubelová: Hungry ghosts and pomegranate seeds
Can our society be nourished and move on from the insatiable hungry ghosts who always need more? Mediterranean autumn as a metaphor for descending to the underworld with pomegranate seeds in ones hand. It is the conflicting season of fertility and mortality. Wax batik prints on dining sets, Turkish red madder root dyes, autumn quality kombucha tastes, seasonal ferments and a series of nourishing and capacity building meditations.
