Josip Zanki and other contemporary artists do not view mirila merely as subjects of scientific study, but as an inspiration for their own creative work. This section brings together performances, drawings and prints created in dialogue with the phenomenon of mirila.

Performances

Josip Zanki and Bojan Gagić have been exploring the theme of mirila through performance art since 2001, when they first performed Mirila at the Scardavilla Monastery near Forlì in Italy. The piece consisted of a site-specific installation — a replica of a stone mirilo — accompanied by an interactive performance that allowed visitors to experience the reconstructed ritual. The work is documented in the book Mirila: Performance Documentation 2001–2008, and has also been presented at the Neon Gallery in Bologna and other venues.

This artistic research connects directly to the scientific topic: in 2013, part of this material was included in the exhibition Mirila – Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb. Curated by Koraljka Jurčec Kos, the exhibition featured ten stone mirila relocated from their original sites, alongside a documentary feature by the Croatian Radiotelevision. Zanki’s thought served as the motto of the exhibition: “Any stone can be made into a mirilo, but a mirilo can never again become an ordinary stone.”

Links:

  • Josip Zanki: Mirila (zankijosip.com)
  • Mirila (bojangagic.com)
  • Mirila: Performance Documentation 2001-2008 (mvinfo.hr)
  • Existing photo gallery of performances at mirila.org

 

Sources:
Portal Novosti, Velebitska počivala duše, June 2013 arhiva.portalnovosti.com
mvinfo.hr
Portal Novosti 2013

Prints

Alongside performances, mirila have also served as a motif in Josip Zanki's drawings and prints.

Links:

  • Existing photo gallery of drawings/prints at mirila.org
  • Josip Zanki — personal website (zankijosip.com)

 

Photography

The photographs accompanying the virtual museum — featured in the monograph Mirila published by the Starigrad Municipality Tourist Board, in the printed brochure and on this website — are the work of photographer Petar Strmečki. In contrast to Zanki’s artistic interpretations of the phenomenon, this is visual documentation created for the project itself: a photographic record of the landscapes and sites that the museum focuses on, rather than a personal artistic interpretation of the meaning of mirila.