Based on the submitted project proposal, curator Mikiko Kikuta this time chose an artist from Pula, SofijaSilvia who was given the opportunity to visit Mie situated close to the center of Japan, which, as she emphasizes, was an exceptional experience for her.<\/p>\n
Mie is known for the oldest and holiest Shinto shrines.<\/p>\n
– Ise-City where I lived is the “capital” of Shintoism, there are the two main shrines Gegu and Naigu, and in and around the city there are over a hundred other shrines. The peculiarity is that Ise-City is part of a national park called Ise-Shima. It tells us the story of how Shinto shrines during World War II, when wood was desperately needed, preserved old Japanese forests from devastation. That is why, for example, most of today’s Japanese forests are artificial, homogeneous in terms of tree species and very well planted<\/em>, says SofijaSilvia.<\/p>\n – Shinto talks about the unity of human beings and their environment, attitude and consciousness that are crucial today, <\/em>continues SofijaSilvia, because our perception of nature needs to change for the purpose of survival. That was my starting point for the project. I haven\u2019t documented Shinto directly, but it runs through the project. It was interesting for me to see how this reflects on people\u2019s lives and behavior, given that in my work I explore and try to understand the position of man in relation to nature.<\/em><\/p>\n The ecological crisis we are going through, the huge number of fires around the world in recent years, as well as the current crisis with the corona virus, confirm that we need a new awareness in order to survive<\/em>, SofijaSilvia said for Vizkultura<\/a>.<\/p>\n This commendable project was supposed to end, as in previous years, with an exhibition of photographs by SofijaSilvia in Rijeka, in the Irish European Capital of Culture Galway and in Japan, but due to unfavorable circumstances related to the covida-19 pandemic, the artist presents a cycle created in Japan in the movie form \u201cThe Sound of Water \u201d.<\/p>\n