High Above the Clouds, and Deep Into the Ground

Etchings in acrylic glass, chain, seashells, stone, video (40 min), 2023.

Dimensions: 3.2 x 1.7 meters.

The photograph was taken during a hike along the Velika Paklenica ravine. The plexiglass sheets are etched using a laser cutter. Viewers can interact with the work by moving around it. At first glance, the work could be mistaken for a still image, but only after a moment does one notice that the clouds are slowly moving and a bird is passing through the frame.

In her installation, the mountains are a projection of an idea that exists beyond the reality that reaches our senses. Nadja Brečević invites the viewer into her own darkroom where she continuously creates a positive copy behind the negative original. The "darkroom lamp" is not static and red, but emanates a flow of moving images that come from the otherworldly realm on which humanity has since time immemorial projected her speculative search for the metaphysical: heaven.

In her work, Nadja Brečević uses photographic and sculptural methods to examine her ancestors' physical and mythological land. In her work “High Above the Clouds, and Deep Into the Ground” she portrays Velebit, a mountain range in Croatia. During the first centuries of Croatian history, Velebit was a sacred mountain where fairies were said to live. The mountain symbolises the importance of cultural myths and fantasies.

Further reading: Portraits of High Places: Conversations With the Fairies