We are today, each in our own way, largely the result of our experiences, a product of personal biography and family history, as well as national, civilizational, and global past. Starting from the premise that a person fundamentally belongs to a universal being, but is shaped by local conditions, the project "Weaving with Stone" seeks the meaning and significance of tradition.
Tradition is not just a memory of our ancestors, often reduced to a mere souvenir, but a living present. It is not merely something that happened in the past, something we fondly remember today, which reminds us of bygone times. On the contrary, it is the accumulated experience of countless generations that we have inherited as a mental treasure buried deep within us; it is a part of us that largely determines our daily behavior, our perception of the world and humanity, and our character, often without our conscious awareness. Therefore, exploring tradition, "digging" into the past, is essential. It is a direct path to illuminating the present moment that leads to deeper self-awareness.
This exploration in the artistic sense should not focus on mere transmission and copying; rather, it is essential that what is valuable in our heritage is transposed and presented in a way that is understandable and acceptable to us today. At the same time, it must retain its enigma and mystery, as the deepest foundation of being, which generations have tried to reach, cannot be fully comprehended, and thus cannot be adequately and completely expressed. It can only be hinted at. There always remains a part that is only sensed. It is important for the artwork to point to this, but not in a literal way; instead, it should enable access or provide guidance for the path to understanding. The expressed essence should exist in a deeper layer of the artistic representation.
Members of the studio Камен&Лом, based on the concepts and sketches of the project's author, have been weaving joint mosaic carpets with 12 hands for several years. After a series of exhibitions held (in Belgrade, Kragujevac, and Pirot), the project "Weaving with Stone" is now being presented alongside the works of mosaic artists from Tunisia. This is yet another confirmation of the significance of tradition, both local and universal – global, as artists in different countries and cultures engage with it in a similar, almost identical manner.
Hana Krichen, Faouzia Dhifallah, Bady Essid Jaballah, Karem Kraiem
Ana Jevgenijević, Vera Radenović Bojanović, Kritina Šarić, Maja Guzina, Mira Jovčić, Suzana Stanišić
Maja Djurović
Petar Vujošević
