Croatia
Valeria Medić (Artificial Red Illustration), was born in 1991, in Brela. She is a self-taught artist who developed her artistic capabilities as a child beneath the
mountainous reaches of Biokovo. Even today, when inspiration takes hold, she puts to paper fantastic landscapes of barren land fused with the female
form. She has a Master’s degree in archaeology and is a certified graphic designer, which has contributed immensely to creating her own form of expression and advancing it through the use of graphical design programs. Part of her opus was exhibited during the Art Forest Festival in Nedelišće, 2021.
Within her extensive portfolio of works there are technical drawings of artifacts published in archaeological journals and monographies and other graphic
design projects. She currently works at the archeological firm Kaducej d.o.o. where within the project she participated in the rescue archaeological and
paleontological excavations of the Upper and Lower Cerovac Caves of southern Velebit, and the Great and Dark Caves of the Plitvice Lakes Nature Park, in
collaboration with the speleological club Ursus Spelaeus from Karlovac. Her current opus of selected works has been developed since 2016 in a rapidograph and aquarelle technique, creating a series of works under the title Mother Nature, which aims to expand on the idea of a mistical connection between nature and women, as well as plunging human consciousness towards the Source.
Website: Artificial Red Illustration
Rapidograph and Aquarelle, 37,5 x 50 cm, 2021
If we just take a second to devote our attention to some finer details in Nature, we will notice a pattern that repeats itself through all its forms. One such form is the analogy between the cave and the female body. The dripping of water droplets through and over the pores of the caverns, and the flow of air, creates a microclimate within the cave. If we consider that for just a second, we can see how this also exists within the female body. The goal of this work is to encourage the preservation of caves, the same way we preserve female gentleness, frailness, and intimacy. The cave motif was inspired by Cerovac Caves, and Great and Dark Cave.
Rapidograph and Aquarelle, 50 x 37,5, 2021
Since the dawn of mankind, and through the evolution of our consciousness, there existed a magical bond crafted from the coexistence of people and nature. Through this bond nature is given human form through myths and legends. This synergy has opened the gateway for the protectors of our own karst regions, the protectors of caves and barrens, glades and flora. Stories about nymphs have become part of our folklore which is handed down from generation to generation, and often used to intimidate people to keep caves intact. In the twilight hours, the cavern came alive into a beautiful nymph whose life energy is within her braided hair. The cave motif was inspired by the Cerovac Caves, Great and Dark Cave, as well as the slopes of the mountain range Biokovo, through the mountain passes to Dubci.
Rapidograph and Aquarelle, 37,5 x 50 cm, 2021
Upon entering a cave we are overtaken by sensory contrasts. Darkness, silence, and humidity overtake the atmosphere. The familiar, peaceful sensation of the longforgotten time in the mother’s womb comes back anew. As the womb is the original home to man, the cave is that of mankind. The karst motif was inspired by the Cerovac Caves, Great and Dark Cave, as well as the slopes of the mountain range Biokovo, through the mountain passes to Dubci.
