BABY UNIVERSE

A dramatic text in the form of an epic made into a riso printed fanzine
with silkscreen printed fabrics that serve as a scenography for a performance,
made on the same fabric as the costume worn by the only actress of the seven characters in the story + a narrator, all of whom speak accompanied by an ambient soundtrack, physically accompanied by main characters in form of a scale
representing the moon and the sun, with some glitter on top

Performed in Gallery Prostor in Split and Gallery SC in Zagreb, both 2021

Year: 2021

Perceivance of life resembles wandering through a silent winter forest pervaded with a soft, barely perceptible fog. In the forest, we run into figures speaking of the adventures of their previous springs, summers and autumns, all of them having happened in the same place. Each of them tells their own story, yet the forest and events are, objectively speaking, the same. As Joseph Campbell states, all great stories are, in fact, variations of a single story narrated by different characters, at a different time in a different way. The truth is essentially unambiguous and immutable.

In one of his interviews, Campbell mentions that due to the nature of cultural and temporal settings we live in, a man no longer manages to create widely accepted mythological structures and archetypes for the development of an individual and concludes that the only solution is to create a mythological space on our own. The concept of an idol is necessary in the comparison, which helps us to build our identity. Heroes and idols are an embodiment of ideals admired by a particular culture and the need for them has never faded away, but has nowadays switched to bright screens, either in the form of (fictive) film characters and games or in the form of celebrities.

Science has also taken the role of a mythological space to a great extent, which automatically changes the way a man perceives themself. The same concept is accepted by an astrophysicist Joseph Silk, referring to the chapter Cosmologists and their Myths from his book Cosmic enigmas: ‘’In many respects, the Big Bang is to modern cosmology what mythology was to the ancients.’’

A performative epic fairytale Baby Universe is based on the foundations of ancient ideals, embodied through a simple story in figures of planets faced with the threat of their own mortality. The generally almighty gods / planets found themselves in a situation that they no longer have absolute control, regardless of their martial, thoughtful and other skills. The instinct in each of them arouses the weaknesses they normally effortlessly control. The solution is brought by Pluto, the deity to whom death is not an unknown term, and in whose words a tranquil thought which encloses the analysis. The final outcome remains unknown.

The work symbolically foreshadows the equilibration of opposites, reconciliation of archetypes, appreciation and calibration necessary to all of us at a certain point. Returning to ‘’their homes’’, all of the planets will draw from Pluto’s words what they wish and are able to. With a dash of humour, Baby Universe becomes a memento mori, with an emphasis on a positive, not so burdened perception of mortality.

‘’Nagual Julian used to tell me (…) about great conquerors, military leaders from ancient Rome. Upon their return to Rome, the citizens greeted them with great triumphal celebrations held in their honour. Showing the treasure they took and people they enslaved, the celebrants were driven around standing on their chariots. Next to them, a slave was riding a horse, with a single task of whispering to them that glory and fame were transient.’’

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Baby Universe is a work that combines visual, musical and performative elements into one hybrid whole. The theme of the work touches on the understanding of archetypes through various systems, either mythological or psychological, and the main assumption from which the action starts is based on a scientific theory in the field of astrophysics. The possible destruction of the Universe is questioned, as a consequence of the disturbance of the current energy order due to the tendency of the Sun and the Moon (opposite archetypes) to equalize and merge into one. Upon learning of the news one night, seven planets Solar System planets lead a discussion about the problem posed, revealing their fears, hopes, and general views on their own lives and deaths. Ultimately, there is an unexpected resolution, although the question of the outcome remains unanswered.

In technical terms, the work is a gesamtkunstwerk thought of, made and executed by one person, myself.

ELENA ŠTROK

ELENA
ŠTROK