Transformations
Witches’ broom
Thunderbesom
2020
Installation made of “wind besoms”, video, sound
Dimensions and duration variable
Commissioned by Survival Kit 11
Courtesy of the artist
Viscum album, mistletoe, was the magic plant of the druids, and in Latvia is also called “wind besom” or “wind broom”. At summer solstice the main priest would cut it off the oak/birch/pine with a golden sickle/knife/sword. The mistletoe would fall on a snow-white sheet held by two to four virgins. According to the druids, the plant could cure any malady.
The plant should be brought home and kept in the shade. After a week, make a potion of the wind besom. Consume it in small sips before igniting scented herbs, for instance, lavender, pine, or juniper. Then, close your eyes, covering them with a silk scarf or handkerchief, and lie down on the mistletoe. An unlit lantern should be placed nearby. You should not consciously look for answers but simply relax and delve into the darkness, imagining it as a water-filled tunnel through which you must swim. You can then sleep or doze until the realisation strikes that you should sit up and light the lantern. Look into the bright light, then turn it off again, and then you will see visions—scenes—or even hear voices that will answer the question that has been tormenting you.
For those who may have forgotten, I would like to remind you that witches’ broom or thunderbesom, or wind besom is a thickening of branches in the crown of a tree resulting from a genetic mutation—except in the case of deciduous trees, where the phenomenon is caused by a fungus, Taphrinaceae, which means that it is a disease and not a genetic deviation. Sometimes the diameter of a witches’ broom can reach several meters.
Artist’s Bio:
For Katrīna Neiburga, art is subordinate to a yearning for emotion, authenticity and the preservation of living memory. It is poetry that operates at the level of perception and feeling: pared to the bone, saturated with truth, searing and beautiful. One of Neiburga’s chief means of expression is her deeply personal iconography, which is evident in her video installations, both when they appear within exhibition contexts and when incorporated into theatre sets. She is interested in sociology and investigating preconceptions about the nature of things.