Lucija Rosc
Birthday Maypoles
Lucija Rosc’s ongoing project Birthday Maypoles (2015–) is a systematic documentation of the social phenomenon of decorating the landscape for the purpose of commemorating birthday parties, which the author regularly encounters in her immediate surroundings.
Lucija Rosc, Birthday Maypoles, 2015–. Courtesy of the artist.
Lucija Rosc, Birthday Maypoles, 2015–. Courtesy of the artist.
Traditionally, maypoles (usually trimmed trunks of firs or other trees) have been used to mark the importance of an occasion, due to their large size and noticeability. Today, maypoles are accompanied by various forms of ornamentation, which primary social groups and broader communities (family, friends, people from the same town) use to temporarily transform the appearance of the surroundings of the celebrant’s home in honour of their special day. Within a community, such celebrations fulfil the need for socialisation, belonging and validation, both of individuals and the community itself. Symbolically, they are a form of ritual, in which the influence of the entertainment industry can be clearly seen – it is manifested in an unencumbered fusion of various elements and motifs that originate in popular culture, from humorous to obscene ones, which characterise the temporary sculptures (sometimes creatively and originally, sometimes rather unsuccessfully). Rosc’s documentary depiction of a variety of maypoles, traffic signs, wooden flowers, banners and the like therefore showcases a topography of such sculptures, of these visual signifiers of personal holidays which temporarily change the appearance of the cultural landscape, but also portray a certain folk quality and intercommunal connectedness of a specific space in a specific time.
https://lucijarosc.com
https://lucijarosc.com
Lucija Rosc, Birthday Maypoles, 2015–. Courtesy of the artist.
Lucija Rosc, Birthday Maypoles, 2015–. Courtesy of the artist.
Lucija Rosc (1995) is a visual artist who lives and works in Ljubljana. She completed her undergraduate studies in photography at VIST – Faculty of Applied Sciences in Ljubljana (2018) and finished her master’s degree in Visual Communication Design specialising in photography with a special distinction at ALUO UL (2022). She has had several solo exhibitions and her work has been presented at the contemporary photography fairs Unseen Amsterdam and Photo Basel, the art fair viennacontemporary, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova, Škuc Gallery, P74 Gallery, DobraVaga Gallery and Galerija Fotografija, among others. Her art practice combines an investigative approach with play, drawing inspiration from her childhood memories, family archives and the environment in which she grew up. She is represented by Galerija Fotografija in Ljubljana.
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Based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, each issue is dedicated to a relevant topic in art and life. Founded to promote emerging artists, its goal is to initiate a dialogue, inspire collaborations, and challenge set views.