“Man is not an end but a beginning. We are at the beginning of the second week. We are children of the eighth day”.
Thornton Wilder

“The Eighth Day” is mixed media installation that consists of wall-drawings, spray-paintings, sculpture and a limited edition artist's books. The exhibition's premise draws on the concept of the last century Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdiajev, in particular, his vision of the Third Epoch, which he refers to as the “Eighth Day of Creation”. He believes it to be the final chapter of universal history that includes humans and begins with their fall and expulsion from Paradise. The task of humanity, he maintains, is to re-create the world to its original state. He wonders about destiny, evolution, destruction and the inevitable transformation of mankind through creative actions. I have tried to weave some thoughts from an array of his writings into my work.

Another significant inspiration for me was Mark Twain's “Diaries of Adam and Eve”. The images in sprays and books are loosely based on his texts. Tinged with tragedy and humor, they illustrate the turning points in the history of mankind. Escalating violence and growing instability around the world also inspired these drawings. Their style pays homage to Keith Haring, the artist who prophesied the end of the Christian era and the beginning of the new paganism.

The core of the exhibition is a sculptural loop formed as the Mobius Strip projecting in space the figure eight - mathematical symbol of infinity; it represents temporality, cyclical nature of process and eternity. All along its surface the cutout shadows of soldiers, countless infantry, are marching up and down this endless road in a state of suspense, trapped in a vicious circle.

The row of these flat uniformed little figures resembling traditional toy soldiers evokes the images of children's war games. An impression of the soldiers' continuous motion simulated by their uneven spread is juxtaposed with a feeling of loneliness and loss of those stooped silhouettes marching aimlessly between past and present, east and west, war and peace.

The loop is flanked by the series of drawings, which reveal details of this venturous journey.

Julia Nitsberg