When we seek to translate feelings, visions, and works of art into words, we inevitably narrow their range of meaning. An exhibition introduction—such as this curatorial text—can offer a direction for interpretation and open up a path of thought. At the same time, when putting together the exhibition, it was important to us that everyone find their own way to the works through their own experiences.
Prayer is more than the muttering of a repetitive text. It is an inner language, a universal language through which we humans seek to connect with the universe. Through it, we wish to link our earthly existence more closely to a higher, transcendent realm. The path to the transcendent is not limited to words: it can manifest in thought, action, music, dance, or any form of personal expression.
But can art also be a form of prayer?
An icon, created with ritual precision and rooted in tradition, serves, for example, to establish a connection with God and the saints: it invites us to a state of deep presence and contemplation. In a similar vein, Eszter Poroszlai’s new exhibition, interpreted as a spatial entity, draws attention to the nature of prayer. Certain works of art are capable of functioning as prayers: they create an opportunity for connection with ourselves and with dimensions that transcend the material world. Engaging with them requires inward-turning attention and stillness—the same attitude that characterizes the artist’s creative process. Her signature technique, embroidery—whether in three-dimensional space or on a flat surface—is a slow, focused, and meditative practice.
The collection of artworks created for The Space Art Gallery’s exhibition space creates a unique spiritual atmosphere. Its effect is akin to reciting a rosary or a continuous stream of prayer. While the works are worth viewing individually, the depth of the exhibition lies in their harmonious unity. The main reason for this is that the artist reshapes the entire space, creating an intimate atmosphere by emphasizing the deliberate interplay of his compositions. Through the dialogue between the works in the exhibition, the gallery transforms into a sacred space, evoking the characteristics of religious venues. A place where everything can be expressed
AMI IMA (which is a prayer)
The letters of the two words (in Hungarian) are exact mirror images of each other; the artist consciously applies this phenomenon in both sections of the gallery as part of the conceptual framework. The mirror plays an important role in the exhibition both as a symbol and as a tool. The exhibited works aim to help us understand permanence and transience and to examine the relationship between space and time. They invite us to find our lost connections and parts of ourselves, and to experience the hope of encounter. At the same time, they question the reality of the experiential world: the relationship between directly perceived reality and reflected reality.
Most of the works in the exhibition were created using cyanotype, drawing on the image-forming power of light. The works on display are connected to Eszter Poroszlai’s earlier land art pieces; they evoke those works and were born from a similar inspiration. Her compositions feature organic natural elements and imprints of her own hair. Her approach is characterized by the juxtaposition of organic and geometric elements, which also reflects the connection between the material and metaphysical worlds. In this sense, prayer can even be likened to a natural phenomenon—a sense of lightness, a flash of light, growth—that simultaneously directs itself toward something and transforms.
In the interplay between the two-dimensionality of the images and the spatiality of the installations, sculptural works also appear this time. Among them, the torus—which carries a complex field of meaning—is present as an essential symbol. Its circular form evokes wholeness, where earthly and otherworldly existence converge. Its surface is covered with mirrors that repeat and echo across dimensions.
Tünde Sipos