After more than 46 applications from all over the world came to the competition “On Accepting The Undesirable” the artistic jury chose the proposal See glass again as the winning work, which will be realized in October 2023. in Lončari, whose author is Dodd Holsapple from Santa Monica (USA).
Holsapple will thus become the eleventh resident of that place for five weeks, where he will work on an art installation for the creation of which he will use more than a ton and a half of glass that was collected in two volunteer eco-actions to clean up the canyon of the River Bijela in 2020. and 2022. year.
The collected glass waste will be used by Holsapple to create a drywall with a mosaic of eels in the shape of a ring that will form a space for sitting, hanging out or talking.
His stay at OPG Pueblo Escondido will be accompanied by public events and workshops which will be announced.
The curatorial team consisting of Davorka Perić and Zoran Pantelić says that the winning project represents the metamorphosis of glass waste into a viewpoint, a toponym in the landscape and a gathering place with an artistic intervention, which also has the the useful function of a rest place in the form of a bench.
The inspiration for the creation of the circular form comes from ancient historical sources (snake, dragon, lizard), and the proposal emphasizes cyclic energy and symbolic spiritual regeneration, and in this case incorporated into an authentic local context through a circular shape with an illustration of an eel fish species, characteristic of the area Three Seas.
European eel fish is a favorite animal among the locals, who place it into their wells to clean the water. The locals used to take it in the rainy seasons when it comes out of the sea and moves on the wet grass. They would put it in the rain water tanks to protect their water by eating the pests that would appear in the collected rainwater.
Therefore, European eel is a participant in an interesting and sustainable process, the bond/connection between the sea and land ecosystem. It originates from the eel family, it is an inhabitant of rivers and seas, and lives in the Karin, Novigrad and Starigrad seas precisely because of the existence of three rivers: River Bijela, Zrmanja and Karišnica which flow into the sea.
About the artist:
Dodd Holsapple, visual artist from Los Angeles actively produces unique contemporary visual artwork in a wide range of mediums.
Dodd created the inventive and widely popular Living Sculpture works / View Planter Series extensively published, exhibited and featured in a televised documentary about new contemporary sculpture and architecture.
He has produced several public art installations focused on environmental awareness and notable solo and group exhibitions at Universities, museums and galleries featuring his recognizable style. Holsapple has participated in leadership and environmental based podcasts and showcased a landmark live painting event at Budman Studio, WNDW, Venice California.
Dodd released an innovative NFT series entitled Seeds To Smoke in 2022. and plans to have an exhibition in Berlin this year.
About the project:
Ecological project IT IS NOT TOO LATE in its focus has seagrass beds and their importance for the overall ecosystem, at first glance and undesirable elements in our environment. For this reason, the knowledge transfer of those who know the role of seagrass beds for the ecosystem and the quality of life of fish is important to us in order to change people’s awareness and perception of this natural phenomenon. Namely, the knowledge that 1% of seagrass in the sea produce 12% of the oxygen we get from the sea, can connect residents, associations and all interested participants with the goal of preserving the ecosystem. The project deals with changing the perception of seagrass beds, its valorization and protection. In addition, the focus of the project was the removal of a significant part of pollution from the area of the River Bijela basin, during which 1.5 tons of glass waste was already collected. The glass will serve as a resource for the creation of an artistic intervention, which will be placed in a public space and thus permanently point to the problem of environmental pollution.
The creation of an art installation is part of the project „#itIsNotTooLate – Seagrass beds: Zostera marina, Zostera noltei and Cymodocea nodosa, their significance for fish life and the overall ecosystem of the three seas area“.
The project was approved through the Three Seas FLAG competition under Measure 2.1. Support for the evaluation, protection and promotion of the natural resource base – rivers, seas and coasts” in order to implement activities removal of waste/pollution located in the watershed, mapping the state of seagrass surfaces and making people aware of their footprint on natural resources with the aim of valorizing and protecting seagrass as a source of marine life and with the aim of raising the quality of life of the fish stock.
The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. The total funds allocated to the project amount to € 25.084,61.
