Garaža Kamba

The origin of the water on our planet comes from the depths of the Earth. Partly from her encounter with Theia’s protoplanet 4470 million years ago, as well as from ice asteroids, meteors and comets that ruled the universe of that time. Therefore, certain amounts of water on Earth, including those in our bodies, come from cosmic bodies that are older than the Earth itself. Life on Earth was created in the water, a primordial soup of knowledge from which we came. Because of circulation of the water in nature, our blood, brain and tears contain water molecules that were in dinosaur blood, and tears of the Cro-Magnons are now within us. Water circulates and flows in various forms and states, ubiquitous and from different directions, so close that it has become distant. During its history, this fathomless foundation of life was surrounded by a veil of mysticism that encouraged the creation of myths and legends, inspired acting within and around it.

“The Healing Water Book” is an intermedial work in the process of Elena Štrok that flows, circulates and develops, and is motivated by a deep appreciation for the healing properties that water possesses. Following the course of the ancient bath rites (which have survived to this day), Elena is creating a ritual performance by which she thanks the water and seeks healing from it. This gratitude is expressed by a voice, in a fluid song combined from different languages, which are merged from different sources into one. In the previous iteration of the work on Drava river, Elena Štrok sang songs written in a small book on acrylic glass with Dorotea Gašpar and Sara Grubić. In the current iteration of work, Elena Štrok and Dora Fodor develop the ritual at a new location, repeating it live in Kamba for the first time.
In an ethereal ceremony, authors humbly give themselves to the water, to its movements and to its pure and wild form. Nurturing gratitude for all of its states and appearances, to the one that is outside and within all of us.

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