OFLUXO

On the need to create utopias
In her show entitled “Today out the window the trees seemed like live organisms on the moon” Aleksandra Liput attempts a de-eper reflection of today’s reality by creating its utopian alternative. The resulting reality is no longer anthropocentric but harmonious and based on direct experience of, and interaction with, nature. The renowned sociologist Zygmunt Bau-man once coined the term of ‘retrotopia’, incredibly relevant today. This state of things features ‘visions embedded in a lost / sto-len / abandoned though not dead past in-stead of not yet materialised future’. Many people seek solace and safety in idealised, comfortable retrotopias against the fear and uncertainty surrounding the future. However, this mechanism can be exploited by demagogues and feed radicalisation of opinions. Fluid, underdefined and abused by manipulators, retrotopias can divide more than unite, feeding fear instead of hope.

A touch of futurism. They were created from fallen lime tree twigs collected by the artist in different locations. Lime tree twigs had been quite commonly used to chase away evil spirits from households, and attract good fortunes. This healing tree was viewed as magical both by pagans and early Chri-stians, and used equally in magic rituals and for carving sculptures of saints. The cocoons and knots hanging off the exhibition’s ceiling convey a similar message. Their meticulous production from scraps of canvass and silk was itself a form of a healing spiritualistic ritual. The final group of presented objects com-prises mysterious crests, totems or talis-mans. Archetypical in forms, they’re purely fictional, unconnected to any real culture or religion, but subconsciously perceived as familiar due to their universality. In Liput’s utopian world they could belong to an unk-nown primordial community, or one that should one day be created to pursue a posi-tive, dreamy future. The title of the exhibition, borrowed from Allen Ginsberg’s ‘The trembling veil’ poem is in itself a statement about the power of perspective. What if perspectives really did shape reality? If so, perhaps it would be worth to assume the perspective suggested by the artist and use it to find solace and re-lief? This prospect makes the contemplation of utopias not only desirable but essential.