The Offering articulates Christian spirituality with a great deal of esoteric tradition. From the orphism-pythagorism of classical western civilizations to the mystical Kabbalah, these symbols will become one recurrent image: a barren tree. Now, the visions of the cosmic man (Adam ha Kadmon) and the Tree of Life merge into the Pythagorean Tetraktys. Ultimately, they will embrace the transcendent notion of self-sacrifice. This exhibition is both, a summary of my previous work, and the beginning of a new quest. Its title and utter symbolism are inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s last film: Offret (1986). The core idea of the whole project can be resumed in the following fragment from Andrei’s film:
“Once upon a time, long ago, an old monk lived in an orthodox monastery. His name was Pamve. And once, he planted a barren tree on a mountainside. Then he told his young pupil, a monk named Ioann Kolov, that he should water the tree each day until it came to life. Anyway, early every morning, Ioann filled a dipper with water and went out. He climbed up the mountain and watered the withered tree, and in the evening when darkness had fallen, he returned to the monastery. He did this for three years. And one fine day, he climbed up the mountain and saw, that the whole tree was covered with blossoms!’