Ex Voto‘ 365
Time: 5-29 April 2017
Location: Gallery “Kaire Desine”, Vilnius, Lithuania
The exhibition-installation includes 365 created vota from the plates of zinc and copper, installed all together on the wall, the artist’s book with printed all 365 vota, paintings and texts in it with the explanation of a miracle, and textual requests for the help of people from the internet, and fluorescent cross on the wall.
Impressive artist’s book with printed 365 vota in it. The artist’s book has the accordion book form, free folded, what create off-centered paper sculpture. On the one side of the book vota printed as intaglio, on the another side of the artist’s book vota printed as zincography, negative image. In the 365 vota of Raminta we see a very simple and very important human requests. If in the churches we can see vota near altar with a shape of a hand, a leg, or a heart, – in Raminta Shumskyte Sum vota we find not parts of a body, but the situations. I would say strange situations with strange desires or thanks. Every desire is visualized in metal plates not only very professional, but also with culture background.
Paintings of miracles
The wall with the collection of paintings of miracles remind the holy churches in Italy or Malta.
How not to remember: “Miracles do not make believe, faith causes miracles”.
“Ex-votos are placed in a church or chapel where the worshipper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. The destinations of pilgrimages often include shrines decorated with ex-votos. Ex-votos can take a wide variety of forms. They are not only intended for the helping figure, but also as a testimony to later visitors of the received help. As such they may include texts explaining a miracle attributed to the helper, or symbols such as a painted or modelled reproduction of a miraculously healed body part, or a directly related item such as a crutch given by a person formerly lame.” Information from Wikipedia.
Raminta Sumskyte Sum several times participated in the “Artist’s Book Triennials Vilnius” and in the “Lithuanian Artist’s Book Exhibition” in Leipzig, Horn, Hamburg and Frankfurt.
Kestutis Vasiliunas
Artist’s Book Creators 2017
