Our second active collaboration with Taibola Assemble this year was a giant art object built for Wild Mint Festival “Дикая мята”, a 3 days open air music festival located in Tula Oblast region.Last May 2018, Irene was invited by the festival organization (Thank you Galina, Uliana and Aina) and operated both as Namtaru Creations (designing the sculpture, painting and adding all detailed icons, symbols and colored touch to the art piece) and World Cultures United (documentarist and network).

Our meeting point was one of Moscow´s train stations. The five former members of Taibola traveled 24 hours by train from their hometown Severodvinsk and Irene came from Trondheim using flight connections. In Moscow, we filled up a big van with all our backpacks, Taibola´s own tools and were driven to our working station in the green fields of Tula Oblast region, nearly three hours away.

The original design made by Irene turned into a 3D art installation of nearly 30mts length and 6,5mts high. The original idea behind the Queztalcoalt was a dream that the spanish artist have been visualizing for few years. This collaboration made this dream come true.

Behind the sculpture there is a story about the legend of the Quetzalcoatl and the wish to create a cultural bridge between South and North through art and creativity. All which this aztec mythological creature represent for the southern cultures of Southern and Mesoamerica was mixed with the symbolism of the Chakana cross from the Incas. Symbols and icons from Inca culture were decorating the cross, which turned into a portal that the feathered snake crossed to arrive to the North in some sort of time travel.

During two weeks, intense and dedicated labour turned into a giant art installation. Preparing materials, measuring, building the skeleton, calculating distances, volume, varnishing, painting, adjusting…

The experienced builders of Taibola decided to make the object bigger than planned and we spent extra evenings and days working on it, until the festival opening on the 9th of June. Everything was worth the result!

During the festival days, ca 20,000 persons attending  and working at the festival passed by the Quetzalcoalt and enjoyed the sculpture. Many of them even recognized the mythological creature.

The sculpture became a meeting point for many visitors, a background for open family theatre and fire spectacle by night, an original background for instagram pictures and even a perfect location for a couple to get engaged. (Photos from Wild Mint FB) Nights were used to test projections, turn on the lights inside the art object and add smoke in the nose. It was really magical to see it alive.

Towards the end of the festival, the whole team and Irene traveled back north to Arkhangelsk region and started their second part of the journey at Kenozersky National Park.

While we were traveling 24hours towards the North, we received some pictures of the burning sculpture at night, which was a decision of the organization. (Photo received by mobile)

The legend of the Quetzalcoalt will always remain, with a colorful and powerful magic. A videoclip about this project will come later this autumn.