04.07.2021 – 18:17
They are dressed in turquoise, their body is possessed by chills, their eyes are closed, a furious energy in the form of lightning grips their flesh, they kiss and keep kissing. They have begun to lie within the fire of the heart.
Kissing, symbolizes not every love, because even those who do not love kiss, to camouflage love and break hearts. There are two men, with pleats on their heads, their friend, also in traditional clothes, is in the color of the LGBTQI flag, that is, in the color of the rainbow. This painting was realized by the artist Ermira Murati and was exhibited on the day when the “Pride Parade” was held. The space where it was exhibited was not made public, if it was made public then the space should also bear the responsibility of humiliating our culture.
The work is provocative, while we ourselves cultivate and sow hundreds of nonsense, insults, nerve testing, and insults to the ancient and beautiful Albanian tradition and culture. There in the painting, the stormy fire of the feelings of the two men is tried to ignite, a fire which through this work identifies as our habit, that once it was fashionable for men to kiss in the mouth. Was this true in our culture? Of course not. The work is not as an exposition of any historical fact, ie an engraving, a photograph found in a state archive between two men in an erotic position or kissing. It is a personal creation of the 21st century. Clothing, however, takes on a different meaning and is stained with the paint of meanness and slander. Or homosexuality was old in our country as well, but it lacked the courage of public exposure, due to time. This is correct. But, the work after an analysis tends to say that this was exactly in our culture.
It would be more beautiful if the artist undressed these “men” from the traditional clothes and made the “men” or “women” in normal clothes kissing or learning to kiss, caught by this magic of “nice” possessions “fiery”, this then would not attack our culture because homosexuality has no roots in any culture in the world, it is a culture in itself, for itself, around itself, about freedom of expression, courage, lusts, thoughts. It is what man decides for himself and not to nationalize something which, has not been nationalized.
The artistic, aesthetic side in the work has many amateur defects, especially the arm part, the palms of the hands, the drape of the costume, are not created as one tries with a realism. They err in proportion. If we go into the history of art, we do not find works in traditional costumes with such an offensive and not provocative gesture.
Artists before creating, they think, then provoke, while in our country they create more than they read or see, so we are faced with such absurd banalities. The painting is done in fabric and is in the version 3mx1.60m.
Ilir Muharremi, art critic
