The Labyrinth and
Paths of Eternal Return: the joint exhibition by Tõnis Vint and Ki wa
Rael Artel
Gallery: Non-Profit Project Space
The labyrinth could be seen as a special motif in the works of both
Tõnis Vint and Ki wa, but the labyrinth could also be seen as a metaphor to
describe and characterise the artistic practices of these two artists in
general. Although there are other Estonian artists who have worked with the
symbolism of the labyrinth and used it on a conceptual level (e.g. Kaljo Põllu and Peeter Maria Laurits),
the reason for linking Tõnis Vint and Ki wa is the interdisciplinary nature of
their (artistic) activities. Bringing together the sign theory in the graphic
art of Tõnis Vint and Ki wa’s idea of texts, sound-art and total environment
would create a synthesis even more perfect. In the general perception, the
labyrinth is something obscure, but the aim of the exhibition is to find
connections with the deeper meanings of the sign, offering interpretation to
varied art production and showing the consistency of the inner logic.
The labyrinth is a complicated compendium of meanings, but most of
the interpretations can not be discussed here, as they would hinder our focus
on the main issue. The labyrinth is a characteristic figure-metaphor in
post-modernist iconography: besides the Babylon Library structural labyrinth by
Jorge Luis Borges, which still provides the possibility of an exit, to some
extent (at a certain point the books will appear in the same order again),
there is the endlessly branching rhizome with several choices by Umberto Eco,
which has neither a central point nor a periphery and each path may cross some
other at some point. It is not possible to escape a post-modernist labyrinth by
trying to find a solution inside it; it has to be comprehended from the
outside.[1] Such a structure resembles, rather, the
Borges’ conception of a garden with forking paths, where the different events,
places and characters may cross or even exist as parallels. The comparison to a
labyrinth also makes it possible to describe the technological network that now
covers the world, the virtual reality created by the Internet, computer games
and also the phenomenon of the hypertext.
Combining both a structural regular model and the absurdity of
existence characteristic of today’s world, the sense of chaos and the idea of
possible worlds, the labyrinth is a relevant representation of the inner and
outer worlds. On the other hand the ritual aspect of the labyrinth, based on
the centre of the structure as the beginning (of all), is of interest. The
practical aim is to get through the labyrinth as an obstacle and reach the
centre. In initiation rites, it marked the possibility of coming back to the
lost “spirit”[2]
; also, the principle was the same for symbolic pilgrimages to the
The concept of eternal return has been used to refer not primarily
to Friedrich Nietzsche’s fundamental concept of life philosophy, but to the
conception by Mircea Eliade[3] based on
anthropology and history of religion that focuses on the universal motif
characteristic of different mythological systems. It is the idea of a
primordial Golden Age, the nostalgic desire for it and the conviction that the
cyclic nature of mythological reality provides the opportunity for the return
of the initial blessed time: the yearning for Arcadia or Paradise Lost, for
King Arthur – or Kalev (or his son) in the Estonian context.
The art of Tõnis Vint is inseparable from his research, as it is
based on his theories of the systems of ornaments and signs, and inspired by
Eastern art and philosophy. His creative work, as a whole, could be defined as
a vast project comprising art (or rather visual culture), texts and research.
In his work, Tõnis Vint integrates science and art into an aesthetic-intellectual
Gesamtkunstwerk, constructing a synthetic, and in some ways syncretic,
art space. In all cultures, he takes an interest in arch-symbols that could be
elements of a common understanding and a way of marking them that dates back to
times long past. The project by Tõnis Vint is characterised by a
meta-encyclopaedic desire to create an all-encompassing system for identifying
various visual signs and their universal meanings.[4]
Umberto Eco, in his work on the search for the perfect language[5],
highlights the same key sign systems that have been studied by Tõnis Vint – the
Book of Changes (I Ching), the Kabala, and alchemy.
Vint’s interest in them spans different eras. Hence, the myth of a pre-Babel
common language spoken by Adam in
The universal language for Tõnis Vint is, first and foremost, an
ornament; therefore, his way of dealing with it is characterised by continuity
and the totality of the subject, embracing everything, not just Estonian
patterns. Supported by his studies, he creates compositions constructed of
universal signs and archetypal figures, the systems and codes of which
occasionally turn into a labyrinth of meanings – purely because we have lost or
forgotten the basic knowledge at some point.
In the work of Tõnis Vint, we can also find direct depictions of
labyrinths used to “illustrate” his sign theory. The author is not so much
concerned with creating a new form as with collecting and studying different
existing labyrinths. His work “Z 16”, from the series “Mütoloogiline graafika” (Mythological
Graphics, 1978–1993), depicts a woman with a mythological creature, the
World Serpent, on a leash. The tightly coiled body of the creature forms an
original ornamental labyrinth that has parallels with Celtic ornaments and
Scandinavian zoomorphic decorations, or the serpent-labyrinth cast in stone.
The intact, closed (often round) shape the serpent has curled into is often
seen as the symbol of the world (universe) in the symbol systems of different
peoples, and it depicts the endless cosmos.
The series “Saturn
1-9” from 1998 made for the labyrinth exhibition in
According to Tõnis Vint, the labyrinths on the floors of medieval
cathedrals (e.g. Amiens and Reims),
or the hedge labyrinths in parks (Heinrich IV, 1589–1616), have the quality of
creating a special energy field which influences the person inside and his/her
subconscious, creating a specific feeling of concentration. The labyrinth is
comparable to the mandala – both of
them symbolise a path that has to be followed through a meditative ritual,
either directly or visually. The centre-oriented structure of a labyrinth is of
special interest here. The ritual stay in the centre of the labyrinth is
interpreted by Tõnis Vint as a mystical identification with the initial act of
creation and knowledge[6]; thus,
the explicitly centrally built labyrinth is, for him, a metaphor of the world,
a scheme of the world order.
Hints of the labyrinth, a model of the universe as seen by Borges in
his Library of Babel, can be found in Ki wa’s texts and the painting “Marianne
Ravi” (2003)[7].
The composition of the painting combines a labyrinth and the motif of a
butterfly, which symbolises both the soul and reincarnation, thus integrating
the meaning of the labyrinth as recurrence. These two symbols, having the same
underlying idea on a certain level of interpretation, play the role of semantic
doubling in the context of the painting and, in their varied repetition, the
symbols of recurrence are given more strength.
At the same time, Ki wa’s approach to the idea as a labyrinth
branching in all directions[8] – which
resembles the deleuze-guattarian rhizome – is more associated with Umberto
Eco’s conception of an unlimited labyrinth. That’s how the fictional characters
of Olematute Bändide Festival, the Festival of Nonexistent Bands, are
organised: more and more new names emerging from spheres not represented before
in their creative work or imagology. A fact of significant coincidence seems to
be the Hopi Indians of Arizona having an underground sacred site called the kiva[9].
The Hopi Indians’ culture has quite effectively preserved their rituals and
symbols connected with the labyrinth, and the composition of the site
corresponds to the symbolic logic of a labyrinth, thus adding to the meaning
fields of the Ki wa name expansion (Kiwanoid, kiwanoia etc).
Ki wa’s primal sound functions on a different level: he writes about
the proto-sound in the centre of a magic circle and expresses it in the
multimedia project “Metabor”, which aims to capture it through (techno)
shamanistic procedures. The effect of the magic circle is based on the effect
emanating from the centre of the central structure described by Tõnis Vint;
which means it is semantically and iconographically close to the labyrinth and
contains primary harmony. Similar to primal sound is notion “friik null” (freak
zero) from Ki wa’s individual mythology, which he has also developed in his
texts. “Freak zero” is a fake world that is born of the world representation[10],
which means it has the potential of being a creation act and the desired state
of absolute beginning. As the Ki wa paradise is “the largest amount of possible
worlds per cm3”[11], the
“freak zero” or the primal sound could be situated in the centre of Ki wa’s
risomorphic labyrinth, with his invented and imaginative worlds branching
endlessly from it. The painting-diagram that visualizes the alchemy of function
of freak zero has indeed a similar structure and its schematic-universalist
approach interlocks with mankind’s eternal endeavour to create comprehensive
(and personal) model (of the world). Diagrams were used by hermeticists in Late
Middle Ages and Renaissance who tried to code the whole Universe with its laws
and relations into outlines that combine both magic and logic.[12]
Quite close to the magic circle and labyrinth, a spiral could be
mentioned; it is the central image in the composition of Ki wa’s paintings Solar Plexus (2003) and Fever (2000). There are also references
to the magic circle and to primal sound: the character in the first painting
can hide upside-down in the (circle of) sounds; a colourful spiral adds the
mystic atmosphere of the magic fairy-world. On the other hand, it is not
accidental that the sound circle hiding the girl is created above her navel,
which is the central motif again – in the traditions of several people, the
navel is called the “centre of the Universe”; also, this body part marks a
special connection which attains transcendent character in the present work.
Ki wa’s works could also be characterised as expressing eternal
return: they are all replete with hints of the Paradise Lost, which is
expressed by “escapist nostalgia for the girls’ (imaginary) idyllic world”[13].
The Lolita figure for Ki wa is important, not only as one of the sexiest key
characters in pop culture, who is fun to identify with sometimes; he also
speaks of the “virgin alternative
perception”[14]
characteristic of little girls and its revelatory aspect, which is able to
restore lost innocence and integrity.
The ancient ideal time can be temporarily
restored through certain ritual procedures, which basically restore sacred
primeval time: cognitive process and actual living in it. Ki wa’s labyrinths
appeal both to the post-modernist metaphorical treatment of knowledge and
elements of first-hand, personal ritual. The works of Tõnis Vint, on the other
hand, are not that playful and hypothetical. Rather, they are seriously
explorative; his aim is not an illusory and temporary recurrence, but rather a
real reconstruction. The author refers to the meaning of a sign only after
thorough study and trial, trying to eliminate subjectivity and, to some extent,
also the potential errors engrained in the intuitive method. At the same time,
these two methods have much in common. They are cumulative in a way, creating
new crossing points in the labyrinth of forking meanings.
Elnara Taidre, curator
Translated by Tiina Randus
[1] А.
Грицанов. Лабиринт.
–
Постмодернизм.
Энциклопедия.
Составители
и научные
редакторы А.
А. Грицанов, М.
А. Можейко.
Интерпрессервис,
Книжный дом;
Минск, 2001, p. 199-200.
[2] J.E.
Cirlot. A Dictionary of Symbols. Routledge,
[3] See: Миpчa
Элиaдe. Mифы,
сновидения,
мистерии.
Рефл-бук,
Вaклер, Киев/Москва,
1996, lk. 62-78; the title of the second book by Eliade is, for
example, Myth of Eternal Return.
Archetypes and repetition (Le Mythe de l'eternel retour: archétypes et
répetition).
[4] See: the movie “Liervarde vöö” (Belt of Liervarde); Ehituskunst 33/34,
2002: Tõnis Vint special
[5] Umberto Eco. The Search for the Perfect
Language.
[6] Tõnis Vint. Centrum. – Ehituskunst 2000, No
28/29, p. 85.
[7]
[8] Interview
with Ki wa. 28.07. 2006,
[9] Jaan Kaplinski. Ikka labürintornamendist. (Still More about Labyrinth Ornament) –
Eesti Maaparandajate Seltsi toimetised 2000, No 4, pp. 71-72.
[10] Correspondence with Ki wa. 1.08 2006.
Manuscript at the author’s disposal.
[11] Ki wa. Egotripp läbi subkultuuride. (Egotrip Through Subcultures.) –
Kunst.ee: Blur, 2002, No 3 (pages unnumbered).
[12] Kaie Kotov. Marko Mäetamme "kujutiste grammatika" (Marko Mäetamm's 'grammar of the images'). Kunstiteaduslikke uurimusi 2004, No 1[13]. Eesti Kunstiteadlaste ühing, Tallinn 2004, p. 112.
[13] Mari Laaniste. Kevadine disko Linnagaleriis. (Spring Disco at Linnagalerii) –
Postimees, 16.05.2000, p. 14.
[14] Ki wa. Freak null: exhibition press notice. –
www.kunstihoone.ee (Linnagalerii >> Previous exhibitions)