Throughout February, the “Plain Sight” exhibition by the renowned artist Mariana Gordan can be visited in London, UK. The exhibition was launched to mark the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Wood Snake, and is hosted by the Light Shutters Showroom.
Artist Mariana Gordan stated:
“In the ‘Plain Sight’ exhibition, meaning hidden in plain view, the concept revolves around a snake camouflaging itself on a blossoming cherry branch. The idea emerged from the Chinese New Year celebration of the Snake, which is widely observed in London. As the occasion approached, I realized I had a fear of snakes. This project became a form of therapy, an attempt to overcome my phobia. I didn’t fully succeed in overcoming it, so I left parts of the snake undecorated and invited ‘snake whisperers’—contributors including artists, a film director, and a writer—to complete its ‘beauty’ with their own symbolic contributions. These collaborations added a new dimension to the exploration of profound existential questions about our fears and other phobias—not necessarily about snakes.”
“As far as I know, in Chinese culture, the snake is a symbol of wisdom and luck, which makes it something positive. My universal message is that things can be hidden in plain sight. They can deceive us—our eyes are drawn to the blossoming branch, the outer appearance, and we get misled. The content may be entirely different or in stark contrast with its packaging. Or, things may unfold right in front of us, and yet, we perceive something else.”
Mariana Gordan lives in London and is a painter, sculptor, writer, and internationally recognized artist, consistently promoting Romania’s cultural image worldwide: www.marianagordan.com
One of her most notable achievements is the production of mosaics in three London Underground stations—Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Circus, and Finsbury Park.
Correspondent: Ion Marius Tatomir