Anna's Gothvos stone

Anna is a Scenographer working in Russia. She placed her stone from Mounts Bay in Suzdal.

Anna's Gothvos Stone

       Gothvos In Suzdal by Anna Efremova

Suzdal: Gothvos,  There are several places here with pagan connections such as Sin-Kamen (Blue Rock or  Blue Stone) in Pereslavl Zalessky town, Its a type of stone associated with sacred pagan uses, widespread in Russia and in areas historically inhabited by both Eastern Slavic (Russian), and Uralic tribes (Merya, Muroma). Unlike Sledovik (both Sledovik proper and Cup-stones), Blue Stones did not have large hollows in them, and were venerated in a simpler way: by pouring water on them, or leaving food offerings. Some of the Blue Stones are still known about, and to some extent venerated by the local population.

The stone placed in the Suzdal russian town. The name of the place is Yarunova Gora (Yarunova Hill).

The church in the photograph is from 18th century. In 12th century there was a monastery sited there. Before the monastery and christianization of Russia in 10^th century the locale was a pagandom.

Yarunova Gora is a sacral place inherited for orthodox Christian culture from the pre existing pagan culture.

As it is commonly agreed, almost all the Deities from the early slavic pagandom hold a connection to the natural world. Jarilo is a Slavic god of sun, vegetation, fertility and springtime.  The worship of Jarilo was also considered as a source of happiness and harmony.

Pagan Temples were erected on the top of the hills, overgrown by trees. Pagans used to clear the top of the hill of greenery, and after that, they would raise an idol. In front of the wooden Idol they would have placed a large white stone. In some cases the place of the stone was at the foot of the hill.  The worship involved the ritual dancing and singing of songs. Pagans produced small figurines and effigies which invariably were crushed on the large white stones. This was considered an action which brings a blessing from Jarila. The Gothvos stone is a small token I left here for a blessing from nature. 

The stone placed in the Suzdal russian town. The name of the place is Yarunova Gora (Yarunova Hill).

The church on photograph is from 18 th century. Before that in 12 th century there was a monastery. Before the monastery and christianization of Russia in 10^th century there was a pagandom.

Yarunova Gora is a sacral place inherited for orthodox Christian culture from pagan culture.

As it well known, almost each Deity from early pagandom slavonians has a connection to the nature . Jarilo is a Slavic god of sun, vegetation, fertility and springtime.  Worship Jarilo was also considered as a sourse of happiness and harmony.

Pagan Temples were placed on the top of the hills, overgrow by trees. Pagans used to clean the top of the hill from greenery, and after that, they have raised their idol. In front of the wooden Idol they have placed a big white stone. In some cases the place of the stone was at the foot of the hill.  The worship was all about dancing and singing songs. Sometimes pagans have produced small humanlike figures-dolls and have crashed them on the big white stone. That was considered as an action which brings a blessing from Jarila. The Gothvos stone is a small piece left here for blessing from nature. 

The Royal Puppet Masters Bee Garden

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The Royal Puppet Masters Bee Garden

The Puppet Masters Stone.

When Paul Batten points his finger towards an object he is infusing that object with the energy to perform: an invisible link between his pointing fingertip and the reciprocal object. This act of conducting electrons as though instilling photosynthesis into his Theatre Objects describes my interpretation of just a few of the Puppet Masters skills. In plantlike situations photosynthesis occurs with the aid of the Sun, the photons captured by the plant split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. By doing so, they produce electrons. The electrons are then utilized by the plant, creating sugars used to maintain growth and reproduction.

Puppeteers, Makers and all kinds of constructors of objects infuse their work with a life force, often their simple materiality is sufficient to inspire reanimation particularly when placed into a corresponding or reactive location.

The result is a more intensified animation than simple physical locomotion; either by hand manipulation, via suspended strings or frame by frame of the animators gate, powered by the spectators experience and anticipatory imagination. A simple mask is endowed with the wearers soul by inflecting the subtle movement or stillness of their head, little things we ordinarily do not notice, shadows over the eyes, the direction of the gaze we put faces on things with our implicit need for stories.

 The anticipated already exists.

This invisible link between the animator and the inanimate is a fragile force. Current research into various energy sources, aided and abetted by the exponential shift in the success of hydrogen fuel cell technology is now being used propelling cars. The technological approach to plant energy is currently being evaluated as an energy source, modified Thylakoids 50,000 times finer than the finest human hair, invisible nanotubes acting as electrical conductors of plant material electrons have been discovered in experiments achieving a major shift in electrical current levels than in similar systems.

When Paul placed his Gothvos stone he chose to place it on a “stage” : the seed bed of a terracotta plant pot, since undertaking this deliberate act of placing an object, days and nights have progressed, coolness and heat have ensued in varying quantities and qualities, there has been rainfall, pollen, sound from various sources above and around, vibration from footfall, birds and insects may have removed certain elements and added others, around the placed stone the placed seeds have germinated and developed into plants which each have their own resins and oils, pollens and fibres, all these elements have conspired to create something unique from the original tabula rasa of the seed bed. What energy now exudes from this dense “horror vacui”, is it all harmony and amelioration? or a discordant chorus of temporary disfunction? either way it is a creation generating energy, what happens next?

Look out for Paul Battens Theatric Puppet extravaganzas and puppet making workshops

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Maria Jesús González

Gothvos Santiago de Chile

I would like to start this abstract by mentioning that this is my response to an invitation by Jonathan Polkest in 2013 to place a small Greenstone pebble, found on the seashore of Penlee Cornwall, to a "place" or location somewhere that would have great or specific meaning to me, personally, professionally or as part of my own "fiction" as a creative practitioner - so as you the reader can see, it took me a long period to finally know where I wanted to place this greenstone and what I wanted to write about in the picture.  

Looking at the works and reflections of other submissions in the Gothvos blog, I could see how the environment, and most of the time the beauty of it, was their inspiration to write something down, also important things about their own biographical activities and how magnificent nature is and how this beauty may impact upon their lives, which indeed it does.   

However, the nature or the natural element in this photograph inspires me differently from many other situations found on the blog. In this case, though I believe this is a pleasing picture - beautiful as well - it has to do more with the effects  and / or repercussions, that contemporary social activity has brought into our daily life = smog, and how beautiful smog can look as well – looking at the picture – Standing a meter away from the picture and you see the ocean, a beautiful sunset in the beach. This is currently how Santiago de Chile is, the smog we are immersed in, and indeed:  it is a fake ocean.   

I would like to make it clear that I’m not trying to impose bad -  nor good - advertising for the city (which is the city where I live) by saying: ‘look how contaminated it is’  although this is the city where I currently live. I do not live in the countryside, this is my daily environment, and this panoramic view, which I’ll name "the smog ocean", has to do with my everyday life. Then I would like to make it clear, I’m not considering this phenomena in a negative light, but rather to make a commentary, not good or bad, not right or wrong, but just reflecting the way it is, with all that comes with it. If someone see this picture, I’d like to introduce them to a city, which could be any other city , this is Santiago after a period without rainfall. A view from the very top of the city, just next to the statue of the Virgin Mary - that stands behind me. From this you can make up your own thoughts, and reflect – or not - on what a city is, and how it looks with its inherent ugliness and beauty, as you find it. 

Talking Walking without placing the place.

I set out on a walk through the concise townscape of Gordon Cullen in Westminsters Petty France to the Portland Roche veneered towers of nearby parliament, over the sensitized cobbles of audio navigated tyres and among led and nurtured by Andrew Stuck of Talking Walking.

The Action.

The Action. 

This story, a neolithic puzzle that originated at the beginning of social interaction deeply affected me as a child,partly because I could not articulate the the full meaning of Archaeology, the sciences of chronology and other details that for a child, hold little actual interest, I was experiencing the delights of contemplation and extending my mind into the delights of thought. I romanticized what I had heard into my own revelatory expression. It had no narrative logic and very little reason but the riddle of the makers of the Stone Axe Heads whose reputation spread throughout Europe and whose apparent obsession would appear to be universal is too great a tale to be told by one teller. I have asked others to help me tell their tale by placing the stones in the situation of their choice, others have found these stones all have a story, a theory or a concept they can share.

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Plato’s allegory of the cave tells of the soul’s advance from ignorance to knowledge, leaving open the 
question of what this knowledge is and what its objects are. hence we embark on Rogers Return.

Roger Davisons Return to the Isles of Scilly.

"I hardly ever look at old photos I have stored on files, so it was nice to dig out a CD rom from 2007 with Jonathan Polkest’s Gothvos stone on, which my two daughters and I placed  and photographed on the Isles of Scilly in Spring 2007 when we went over for a day visit. How young they look, how happy and free.

The Isles of Scilly are somewhere I rarely visit now, though I lived there from 1968-1970. The journey across to them from Penzance by boat still invokes a sense of return to a special place, and the islands never fail to meet my expectations, and reaffirm my fond memories of that time.  So it was nice to not only take part in Jonathan’s ongoing project, but to be able to  leave the Gothvos stone there as a sentinel/ reminder of our ephemeral  presence that day.

Roger Davison

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In Carl Jung's seminar on Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Jung claims that the dwarf states the idea of the Eternal Return before Zarathustra finishes his argument of the Eternal Return when the dwarf says, "'Everything straight lies,' murmured the dwarf disdainfully. 'All truth is crooked, time itself is a circle.'" However, Zarathustra rebuffs the dwarf in the following paragraph, warning him against over-simplifications...

Roger Davisons Art.

The Lions New Moon;Hany Park.

Gothvos Norrad

The Dukes Stone in Lancaster by Anhon

With each stop the train made.

With each stop the heavier they became.

Their luggage, prams, pies in hand

But not only that; increasing waistbands.

At Preston, the train waited increasingly so,

There were police, stewards - the train was a no go.

Announcements came, merriment ensued

'The train is too heavy, it cannot move

Another one will be along shortly' please do not scoff

Announcements wained - no one got off.

Anhon

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The Lions New Moon
Hany Parks judicious placing of her Gothvos stone into the often silent void behind ancient histories and between cultural vicissitudes weaves a subtle web, needing a particular angle of light to illuminate but the softest breeze to remove. Between icons of national identity, cultural tourism and the parameters of human orientation, the far west and the far east  further still, the random acts of an individual.

 

Hany Park placing a greenstone in Bulguksa

A representation of a Cornish Greenstone axe placed to promote good luck to everyone from Hany Park in Korea.

The temple is considered to be a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla kingdom of Korea.  

Bulguksa.

The Gothvos stone was placed in Bulguksa which is a temple in South Korea being built in 774 by the Silla royal court. The stone is now in a square of the pagoda, the stone structures of the pagoda have been preserved from the original Silla construction for 1240 years. Gothvos is a connector of time between the year 774 – 2014 and future. The physical space of the temple implies the constancy and change of time in an endless time sequence.

The Gothvos is placed inside of the pagoda (the last picture), people put coins between layers, wishing luck. I send my regards with Gothvos, wishing good luck to everyone.

Bulguksa is located on the slopes of mount Toham (Jinheon-dong, Gyeongju city, North Gyeongsang province, South Korea). It is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and encompasses seven National treasures of South Korea, including Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas, Cheongun-gyo (Blue Cloud Bridge), and two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha. The temple is classified as Historic and Scenic Site No. 1 by the South Korean government. In 1995, Bulguksa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Seokguram Grotto, which lies four kilometers to the east.

The temple is considered as a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla kingdom.^.  It is currently the main temple of the 11th district of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.

Among the earliest wood block prints in world, a version of the Dharani Sutra dated between 704 and 751 was found there in 1966. Its Buddhist text was printed on a 8 cm × 630 cm (3.1 in × 248.0 in) mulberry paper scroll. 

Pauls Stone

Lithuanian Gothvos by Paul Attmere

Greenstone Placement in Krakes, Lietuva (Lithuania). by Paul Attmere

I decide to place the Greenstone on one of the fifteen windows of a derelict basketball court looking towards the centre of Krakes. The basketball court, like the swimming pool, sauna and cinema, was built for the town during Soviet times. Since 1991, when Lithuania gained independence, these buildings have been slowly deteriorating and are now pretty much beyond repair. Over the years most of the windows have been smashed and much of the interior stripped but surprisingly, given the high value of metal at the moment, the metal shutters are still in place. There is an incongruity that I like placing a Greenstone here but when I position it I feel something is not right. This morning I had imagined placing the stone in the same way I often visualise a scene I want to make in a performance. Romeo Castellucci, the Italian theatre director, observes there are two dramaturgies[1]: the imagined dramaturgy and the dramaturgy acted out in time and space. His point is that the second is an extension of the first even if it significantly changes. This is not a performance but there is definitely something ritualistic about it. I remove the stone and follow my intuition to place it somewhere else. This Greenstone was formed in the Mounts Bay area, a region of Cornwall I have a strong family connection with. I feel the stone should be placed, if not near the sea, at least near water.

            It seems I cannot place the Greenstone without referring to the stone’s origins as well as my own. I too need to be near water: my surname, Attmere, comes from the old English word for a lake or sea –mere. It means literally my family lived, at the mere. Also, I was born and bred in Weston-Super –Mare, a seaside resort twenty miles from Bristol. The town’s name similarly comes from its close proximity to water- super means on, and mare is Latin for sea. Despite this, when it comes to the sea, it is not Weston’s muddy shoreline but the granite cliffs and beaches of south Cornwall I miss.

            Although I wasn’t born in Cornwall my family, on both my mother’s and father’s side, come from the Penzance area and this is where, as a child, I spent most of my summers, even passing en-route to my Uncle and Aunt’s cottage in Mousehole, the Penlee Quarry -where I believe some of the stones may have come from. One year I remember performing an odd ceremony in which I awarded myself a silver St. Christopher in the bedroom of my aunt’s cottage as if to ensure, however far I travelled, the spirit of the place would travel with me. I still have the St. Christopher, bought from one of the gift shops at the bottom of Raginnis Hill. I can’t help thinking of this as I make my way towards the first of three town ponds (or Tvenkinys as the locals call them) where I now intend to place the stone. There is also a tentative family connection, on my Mother’s side, between Cornwall and Lithuania: In 1799 a man called John Kowliskey, who appears to have been a sailor aboard H.M. Gun Brig “Boxer,” set up home in Newlyn. Over the years the family name changed to Kliskey and it was one of these Kliskeys (currently a resident of New Zealand) that drew up a family tree that showed John Kowliskey’s roots stretched back to 16th century aristocracy from Lithuania and the Ukraine.

            Krakes is pretty much in the centre of Lithuania and 200km from the Baltic Sea- so the water will have to be fresh not salt. It is on the periphery of the town and within view of our house that sits maybe 100 metres from the south bank of the pond. We laid the foundations three years ago and decided to use walls made of compressed straw. We hope to move in this summer. You can’t see it in the photo I took of the stone but if you’re standing up you can glimpse it like a giant mushroom, just visible behind the frozen reeds. The wind is getting up making the temperature feel even colder than -10 centigrade. I remember how, during a hot spell last summer, the cool morning breeze smelt like it had come directly from the sea. Lithuania is predominately flat so perhaps it had come uninterrupted from the Baltic. Today my cheeks feel cold as clay. There is a small jetty that is particularly popular with teenage couples because it has a good view of the sun setting in the west. I place the stone just within arm’s reach- it is where the first pond spills into a channel that runs beneath the road and into a second larger pond. Having removed my gloves my hands become so cold I find it difficult to push the shutter on my camera and writing down my immediate impressions (as I’d imagined) is out of the question because I can’t hold my pen let alone write anything legible with it.

            Placing the stone didn’t work out quite the way I intended. I like that. Life in Krakes hasn’t worked out quite the way I planned either -and I like that. If more snow comes, as forecast, it’s possible the stone will lay undiscovered until spring.  Perhaps it will be found by a couple of young lovers who attach some special meaning to it- even if they never discover the true meaning of the word Gothvos. Then again, a fisherman might kick it carelessly into the water.

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[1] LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre). A Conversation about Dramaturgy, contd. Laban London. May 2004. 
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Mary's Advice to Tiffany.

Brighton Beach Monday 7th April 2014

I do not enjoy Mondays and waking up to them is not my most favourable part of the week. The rain was beating hard, but it seemed apt weather - suited my greying mood. 

I caught the train from London Victoria, on an impromptu visit to Brighton, to stave away Monday blues. I use the place as a quick get out clause, when I am finding London intolerable. Being by the sea - inspite of bad weather - is a great solice for us all. 

Arriving on the beach that day was somehow like I had never done so before, even though I had visited in recent months and many times previous in years past. 

'Nothing like visiting the same place twice to mark the passing of time.' My friend Mary tells me. How true, I thought. 

I nestled my stone, in amongst thousands of others that bore no enigmatic inscription, but each defined by their own distinct shape, indentations and journey from sea to shore. Or vice versa. 

I stood by it and peered - considering a few things that had been occupying my thoughts, that day; friendship and how it shifts and changes like the forms of these many stones, also distance and why it this is inevitable with people and places. The utter loneliness of loss and letting go. But the great comfort I realised of visiting a place, I associated with someone who is now gone. But who seemed so present, he could have been stood next to me. Observing my stone with me, in amongst all the others. 

TIFFANY CHARRINGTON