Pieta, the ultimate symbol of grieving, has been duplicated in endless 3D computer-born images, walking at a slow pace within a virtual space, carrying in their arms dead bodies which are identical to themselves. Do they carry their own death? Do they carry their Otherness?
Apathetic to each other, intersecting each other, they blindly obey a computer’s code “no borders”, within a haunting digital moment.
Pieta, 2016
3D animation
03:40 min in loop
A pair of hands, originally were coded for the 3D human image in the Pieta video, reaching upwards either in submission or prayer. Crafted by Toren in a traditional technique used 300 hundreds years ago, embellished with a freely drawn grid, meticulously imprinted with graphite - light years away from digital perfection.
A pair of shoes belonging to a farmer in Ukraine during the First World War was bought by Toren at a flea market in Odessa. She was told that they were left in the field near Odessa while running away. 100 years later and still relevant, they now rest on an altar made of bricks in the gallery space, embodying the whole tragedy of human experience.
Installation view of the exhibition Deadlines, curated by Professor Dr. Leonida Kovac, Kranjčar Gallery, Zagreb, 2023