DRAW ON EMOTION AND SYMBOLISM

Katja Škorjanc brings aspects of Slavic folklore into her art - not just to make it look 'nice', but for greater meaning

- Katja Škorjanc

Did you ever come across an artwork that looked beautifully ornamental, symbolic and emotionally charged, but somehow uncanny in that ‘woo-woo’ sense? Symbolism and folklore that were imbedded in the culture we grew up in give our artworks a sense of depth that goes beyond aesthetics. These elements carry inherited meaning and ancestral knowledge. They activate memory, ritual and emotion – even when viewer can’t explain why.

As a Slovene I’m close to Slavic folklore in particular, which is rooted in cycles of nature, labour and liminal states of life/death, so its visual language feels primal and bodily. As such, ornamentation is also presented as a form of protection and invocation (embroidery and weaving): repetition becomes rhythm, and rhythm becomes grounding.

I’m using these forms today, not to quote history, but to try to reactivate it. Viewers may not recognise the Slavic references, but they feel the presence of earth, labour, protection and ancestral continuity. In that way, Slavic symbolism doesn’t decorate an artwork. Instead, it roots it, giving contemporary images soul, memory and even ritual weight.

1 SYMBOLISM IN THE ART

'Monster' in this artwork has key botanical symbols: vines and dark ferns that grow close to the ground, symbolising buried tenderness, grief, root and karmic descent (cold colour values). The only warm exception is the bright flower placed in the chest area, symbolising faint hope in his heart. The shape of his body is big and ominous above 'Maiden'.

Maiden features warm florals (reds, corals), which represent life force, heart-fire and compassion. She carries warmth, but not innocence - it's chosen empathy, not naivety.

Her figure is showing more skin: she's more exposed compared to Monster, especially her neck, which symbolises love at risk. Her shape is small, but her posture with the lifted chin speaks about endearment and curiosity.