ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
Corpus Anima
oil on canvas, 2019
180 x 170 cm
Image courtesy of the artist.
Artist Description
The name of my painting is Corpus Anima. The word “corpus” is a Latin word that literally means body, matter of any kind, while the Latin word “anima” or “animus” means soul, life or mind. Starting from my own body, I consider it as a certain boundary of subjectivity and as a certain intersection, connecting the biological and sociological, social and political fields. Body and soul make up a living being. The term corpus in my work means a subjective physical and material state, what is visible and tangible to everyone; corpus is a biological content that outlines the space of my identity. Anima signifies my identity, soul and mind, the spirit of my existence. People feel, learn, and think through the soul; the soul does not feel joy, pain, fear or anger because it is not able to “live” and experience independently of the body. Likewise, this image would not “live” further if there were no people watching, interpreting and studying it, it would be just another object without meaning and sense. Art is another form of communication, especially the communication of the invisible, the inner. The impulse to create is one of the specific signs of humanity. A painted eye is an “eye” by name only, just as a dead man is, a “man” by name only; the soul is what makes the difference between a living organism and a dead body. Therefore, man is the soul of the body of this painting because he keeps it alive. This work is my interpretation of the “Corpus Anima,” my soul and body.
Ena Gilih, 1993. Zagreb. In 2016, Ena completed the undergraduate study of fine arts at the Academy of Arts in Osijek (today the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek) and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, univ.bacc.art. In 2016, she was on a student exchange at the Akademia Sztuk Pięknych in Gdańsk, module: Painting. During her studies, she participated in various art projects. In 2019, she completed the University graduate study ‘Art Culture’, module Painting at the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek. The diploma thesis entitled Corpus Anima was realized under the mentorship of assoc. dr. art. Ines Matijević Cakić (Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek) and prof. dr. art. Piotr Józefowicz (Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk). She has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. In 2021, she became a member of HDLU Osijek. She lives and works in Osijek.
Heart of Flesh Literary Journal 