The artists Raluca Pavelescu, Gabriela Leu and Adrian Buda are the protagonists of the exhibition “This Ridge”, opened at The Cosmic House Gallery. Curated by the artist Tudor Costin, the exhibition invites the public to an open dialogue about identity, traditions and cohabitation.
“When thinking about history, perhaps most peoples’ reflex would be to think about it as that long story about humanity’s evolution that often tends to be focused on great men who fought great battles or built great objects or structures, men who, through sword or trade, got rich and famous, men who tied their name to this story we use to imagine our past. Few people would think about the history books that try to investigate traditions and customs, that look into the clothes worn through generations, that classify the objects humans used to sew these clothes, to grow food, to populate both their environment as well as act as inanimate companions to their traditions and rituals. Moreover, perhaps even fewer people would think about the histories of identity and otherness, about the stories of populations and individuals that, at one time or another, shared the same land, worked that land, grew their food on that land and celebrated their traditions on that land.
“This Ridge”, featuring artworks created by Gabriela Leu, Raluca Pavelescu and Adrian Buda, is a story about such a patch of land. Over time, this piece of land has assumed, or was imposed upon, many names and is generally referred to as Romania. Independently, the artists unfold stories about their connection to a personal past, traditions, and struggles that get tied together to construct their distinct identities. Seen together, these pieces form another narrative that explores otherness and cohabitation themes. They challenge the myth of national homogeneity and look into the relationary complexities that are formed between peasants, serfs and enslaved people, as well as how these relations still shape the lives of their descendants.
Some aspects of this story may be harsh and shameful, touching the history of the slavery of the Roma population and how different alterities have interacted and looked at each other over time.
Other aspects discuss tradition as both a device for preserving one’s identity as well as a mechanism in which various individual identities interact and influence each other. “This Ridge” is an exploration of how the often ignored tales of the lower class and those of the oppressed, tales of their living together for centuries, mixing in both work and leisure, toil and celebration, can paint a clearer picture of where we, today, come from. “This Ridge” questions how our holiday songs evolved, how prejudices were formed, how people can unite or divide, and how ever-evolving traditions shape worldviews that sprout from the same patch of ground.” (excerpt from the curatorial text)
The exhibition represents the prize awarded by the Cosmic House Gallery within the 12th edition of the Expo Marathon and can be viewed until October 27, 2024.
