Second
Childhood
My
project Second
Childhood was
born along with my son, six years ago.
The
interdisciplinary approach in my artistic practice has drawn on my
experience as a psychologist and artist. Personal events in my life
were the initial point of reference for my visual research. Over
time, viewing the theme of second childhood through the stories of
people and their families has allowed me to render the project
international, including people
belonging to other nationalities and cultures. The project has
acquired a new semantic layer, and attempts to demonstrate how
traditions influence personality development.
Second
Childhood produces
a singular effect, affecting the natural mechanisms of our memory.
When a parent is emotionally involved in their child’s life, “a
pigeonhole of long-term memory” opens up. When that happens, the
person not only goes down the memory lane of his or her childhood,
but also re-lives it. Playing and interacting with the child
activates the "inner child", a part of one’s personality
responsible for curiosity, creativity, learning, as well as a relaxed
attitude to life. It is a peculiar psychological effect. Interaction
between two generations is not a one-way transfer of experience from
parents to children, but also a powerful tool for personal
development of all the participants. My task is to demonstrate this
emotional connection in the context of various cultures.
For
me, this project is the way... I take it with me wherever I go. The
story of Second
Childhood develops
on par with the geography of my travels. New art objects, that I add
to the project in every new country, are pieces of the same puzzle.
It has already taken place in Russia and Sri Lanka. Currently, I am
working on the Turkish episode of Second
Childhood.
To
be continued...
Second
Childhood Installation
Part
Two. Sri Lanka
Sri
Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean. The geographical isolation
and proximity of the ocean have formed its unique and distinct
culture.
In
my artistic practice, I prefer using found objects that mirror the
history of the country. Fragments of fishing boats, an element and
symbol of the oldest business on the island that has a direct
connection to the ocean, are the basis for creating my installations.
The sound layer is a Sinhalese lullaby that has preserved the ancient
wisdom and traditions of the peoples of Sri Lanka. Sinhalese is one
of the three official languages of the country, that is not spoken
anywhere else in the world. A local woman performs the lullaby.
The
video with a child’s photo reflected in a mirror cube is a symbol
of the parents’ desire to identify their children’s future with
their way of life, and traditions of their society to see their
reflection in the children. The thickness of the ocean water in which
the object is submerged visualizes the pressure of an unarticulated,
but tacitly existing caste system in society, the division into
different social strata, and the associated predestination of life.
One
of the objects in the series has been supplemented with a porcelain
figure of a child, tied up with a symbolic umbilical cord in the form
of a fishing rope. The anchor seems to be pulling the load with the
Singalese inscription that means “family”. It is a metaphor for
strong family ties that guarantee stability in the future, but also
signify the limitations to the freedom of movement, and choice.
The
series includes a collage: the pictorial abstraction’s colour
identity plays with the texture and colour of the ready-made
objects—fragments of fishing boats. It symbolizes a human living
near the immense, and mysterious ocean.
