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Art-life at Xmas 2021
An installation of thoughts, words and images, goes straight in my heART. It started from a recent mailart card where I depicted a Red Bench to be built and to be constantly mantained in order to SURFvive in the hurricanes (for an exhibition in Bologna against the violence on women) and a pictorial experienze in Laives at the Kunst Kolonie of Artimmersion13.
Then, holding up the figurines of the Nativity Crib from my infancy and with the gaunt bed for the Holy Child in my hands, I realized the similarity of the cot with the Red Bench above. ‘Things’ from the past emerged: a glass vase, a celebrative plate for “Natale”, a clay garland and so on.
Emblems of a still alive art-life.
Poesia a Venezia
On October 2nd, 2021, exactly thirty two years after the signing of the manifesto for the First International Day of Poetry, a group of (mail)artists gathered in the same place of Venezia Mestre, at Itinerary 80, around Giancarlo Da Lio.
Laura Cristin Sheren brought the Tarotensign VPopeS&StarXVII just completed and hanged it facing the Canadian maple, better known as the Tree of Poetry. The two Arcana depicted on the double face blue textile came three dimentional in two subsequent art actions. The first performance – for the PopeS – took place at the Garage-Ambasciata of via Cavallotti: an intimate memory intended for those present, devoted to the missed friend and mentor Dawn Redwood (London, 1936-2020), immersed in Jerusalem by W. Blake, set to the music of the Time. Soon after came the Star‘s turn in the nearby Parco del Piraghetto where the performance was shared with the local community and the Nature and the Autumn by Vivaldi. Sheren wore a Venetian tricorn and ended up holding the nine pointed Star of the fortress of Palmanova that Dawn had loved so much.
Link video at https://youtu.be/meA0B-rW1KM
“Sheren at Summer Solstice 2021”
Just around my B.day art-life started to burst again and few but significant exhibition opportunities come up such as
-“L’Amazzonia deve vivere” (curator Ruggero Maggi) featuring a kiwi leaf from my former gARTen, at Museo Diotti of Casalmaggiore (CR) from 4 June to 1 August and from 21 August to 26 September
-“per Filo e per Segno” (curator Marisa Cortese), at the Fiber art exhibition in Pray Biellese, from 6 June to 10 October
-“Padiglione Birmania” (curator R. Maggi) at Palazzo Zanardi Landi of Guardamiglio-Lodi from 26 June to 31 July and from 3 to 19 September.
Last but not least, some mail art about the MV X-press PEARL revisiting the nurdles as Sheren’s tears and so on.
“inFINITO aMARE” trilogy
My best wishes for a Merry ‘Xmas and Happy New Year 2021! I hope to soon be able to embrace life again at one hundred percent, in the meantime I did it by completing the book “inFINITO aMARE” that I wrote over the latest eighteen months, from 13 June 2019 to 11 November 2020. Almost six hundred thousand characters, collected in thirty-three waves of art-life, to compose a trilogy (1-11, 12-22, 23-33). So far, three artist copies have been made which, starting from a December day when it snowed around here, have now started their journey. Still ongoing.
Index of the chapters of “inFINITO aMARE” (the book-diary is written in Italian, except # 27 We’ll Go No More a Roving that is in English): 01 Compleanni B.days, 02 Ricordo grato di Letizia Comba, 03 La nascita di Sheren, 04 Che Guevara, 05 Coney Island, 06 City Lit, 07 Allunaggi, 08 Bicicletta, 09 Serendipità a Berlino e Sofia, 10 La Grande Guerra, 11 Sulle tracce di Mozart; 12 Mondiali di calcio 1982 e 2006, 13 Arcobaleni e Messico, 14 Principesse e Castelli, 15 Le Carte, 16 Le Conchiglie, 17 dolpHEn in Irlanda, La plastica e i gonfiabili, 19 Da ShirEn a SHEren (a Madrid), 20 Instant book e onde noir, 21 L’isola che non c’è, 22 La Fotografia; 23 Dio c’è?, 24 Garibaldi, 25 Trebnje e Beograd, 26 Calzini scompagnati, 27 We’ll Go No More a Roving, 28 Farfalle, 29 Trip-tych, 30 Parigi-Venezia-Firenze, 31 Nei luoghi di Beethoven, 32 Cronologia dei Tarocchi, 33 Dalle Termopili a Gandhi.
“Giustisia e Fortesa” from Palmanova to Venice
On Saturday, September 26th, 2020, at Forte Marghera (Venezia), Palmanova building, from 7 pm, at the opening of the international collective event “Stendardi”, organized by Officine, Rosso Veneziano, with the contribution of Itinerari 80. Exhibition lasts till October 11th.
Link video “Giustisia&Fortesa https://youtu.be/3zAPyCn62LA
“Giustisia and Fortesa” – in the Bisiac dialect which is my native language related to the Venetian – are cardinal virtues as well as two figures of the Major Arcana to be practiced as a way towards the never ending human enlightment. The standard personifies both Justice (VIII) and Strenght (XI), in Sheren’s art identity. They are connected respectively to the balance of Libra and to the constellation of Leo that holds the double star of Regulus in the chest, among the four regal ones of the firmament. The painting on canvas is as tall as me and seven times – but in proportion – larger than the Visconti-Sforza cards preserved between New York (Morgan Library) and Bergamo (Colleoni collection). It enters fully into the personal research of Tarotensigns undertaken in 2005 and which now counts almost the complete set of twenty-two, each of which is connected with precise moments of art-life. For the occasion the first “off-site” ensign made in 2005 for Giancarlo Da Lio and the Embassy of Venice, is brought back to the theme of the Tarot as the”Magician” who starts the whole journay.
In “Giustisia e Fortesa” as a performance, the personal visual research is intertwined and retraces from 1 to 11 the musical fragments composed by Dario Della Rossa in the broader parallel and consonant path undertaken together. In succession, the tracks: 01 Magician 00:58 – 02 Popess 01:04 – 03 Empress 00:22 – 04 Emperor 00:18 – 05 Pope 01:39 – 06 Lover 02:38 – 07 Cart 00:19 – 08Justice 00:58 – 09 Hermit 02:36 – 10 Wheel 01:15 – Strenght 00:58).
It happens from Palmanova – the star shaped city near which I live – to the building of the same name in Forte Marghera, on September 26, 2020, to sanction and reaffirm an unprecedented twinning of freedom and strength.
“1st of May 2020”
On the first of May 2020, my thoughts are for the beauty of life and for the necessity of the art in the past, present and future!
“Suite for Dawn”
The Ouverture of the “Suite for Dawn” is meant as a suggestion to prepare all of us for a new beginning after Coronavirus’ quarantine. I composed it with words (and images) according with the Baroque and Renaissance dance. Let’s start with Allemanda in a binary rhythm that refers to my installation of Lucia and Gertrude, as narrated by Manzoni at the time of the plague in Milan. Corrente, a triple metre dance follows, where I remind all my travelling with Dawn – an artist from London – as well as the friendship with Dario, the musician (featured in Sarabanda). The last movement – Giga – reaches the apex of the heavens because Dawn ‘passed away’ on March 2nd but when I look at the painting “Paradiso” left here, I know (s)he is still with me.
Full texts and images in the contribution for Compendio del Tempo Sospeso at https://www.microbo.net/2020/03/laura-cristin-2/
Merry ‘Xmas 2019 and happy New Year 2020
A glimpse of new ‘Xmas decorations from Laura Cristin Sheren
At the end of a very intense/happy 2019, I wish all the best to everybody, offering with this card just a glimpse of my INTERIORity coming from brand new ‘Xmas decorations, recycled and revisited from the past. Among these: a crib made with four statuines recently bought in Naples, set around the invite of mcDONAlds (let us donate!), a nativity scene with the figurines of my childhood hosted this year in a new shelter (roof is made with part of a wooden crate “La Qualità dal 1954” – referring to Sicilian citrus fruit – preserved for years) to end with a ©hristmas tree – made out with an advert of the Aspirine with vitamin C – that was collected outside a chemist shop. Enjoy getting towards the new decennial!
At Lo Stracquo in Ponza, September 2019
“Mare Nostrum che sei nei cieli” it is a pray from Laura Cristin for the many who tried to cross the Mediterranean but did not survive, Ponza, 3 September 2019
There’s a map of Mediterranean, in “Sherena Velella” book made after lo Stracquo 2014, where I drew crosses for the many who found the eternal rest there. This year, having completed a similar journay to Ponza – resulting in the bust of sea and sky of “Sherena Lunata” – I ended with “Flaschenpost from Venedig to Ponza” (video at https://youtu.be/0NLnO_iXPCw ) so I could pray: “Mare Nostrum che sei nei cieli…”
