Axis
Mundi
Csilla Toldy
Launch
Launch of “Axis Mundi”
A Video Poem
Earth Day 2021
22 April 2021 at 7 pm
In celebration of Earth Day 2021 and the diversity of our planet, the Centre for Creative practices is inviting you to the launch of an eco-video poem, “Axis Mundi”, written and filmed by Csilla Toldy.
The video poem is based on Csilla’s poem, “My head is the Earth”, and it will be recited in 20 languages, some rare, such as Maori or Hiligaynon or Algonquin.
The event will take place online on Thursday, the 22 April at 7.00 pm
- 7.00 – introduction of the project and the artists on zoom
- 7.30 pm – the world premiere of the eco-video-poem on YouTube
- Following the streaming, we will host a Q&A session with the artist and translators.
The Zoom link for the opening and the live Q&A afterwards
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84126830425?pwd=eVZMUkFHd2UzajJ3MTNibGlPZXFkQT09
Project commissioned by Centre for Creative Practices and supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Info
“Axis Mundi”
Based on my poem “My Head is the Earth”, written originally in Hungarian, I asked translators from all over the world to translate and recite my poem in their own language. On Spring Equinox, we filmed in Rostrevor Meadow from sunrise to sunset every hour in a 360-degree circle and the Cooley Mountain along Carlingford Lough. The aim was to create an eco-video-poem raising awareness for environmental pollution and the simple beauty of the landscape we inhabit.
We start the film at sunrise at 6.27 am, and as the day progresses, we go through the time zones starting from GMT, around the globe, with the recitals of the poem in different languages corresponding.
The footage incorporates flotsam – rubbish washed to shore from the Irish Sea. The combination of the footage and various languages represents the diversity of the planet and in Ireland and the interconnectedness of humans, and our dependency on nature.
The participatory element of this project included the translation into 20 different languages.
My Head
is the
Earth
My head is the earth,
my skin the air
dusk is my hair.
I am the earth –
I open myself
and make love
with the sky.
On my horizon
we touch
and eternity cascades
on me
with the night/light.
Video
Poem
My Head
is the
Earth
Mit hoved er jorden
Mit hoved er jorden,
min hud er luften
skumring er mit hår.
Jeg er jorden –
Jeg åbner mig selv
og elsker
med himlen.
På min horisont
vi rører
og evighedens kaskader
på mig
med natten (lucid).
Danish. Soren Lauridsen
मेरा शीर्ष है धरा
मेरा शीर्ष है धरा
हवा है मेरी त्वचा
गोधूलि बेला मेरे गेसू
मैं हूँ धरा
खुल जाती हूँ मैं
संगम के लिए
आसमान से
मेरे क्षितिज पर
स्पर्श करते हम
और झरता है अनंत काल
मुझपर
रात के साथ
Pallavi Singh – Hindi
私の頭は地球
私の頭は地球、
私の肌は空気
夕暮れは私の髪。
私は地球
私は自らを開き
空と交わる。
触れることのできる
私の先にある地平線に
夜と共に私に降り注ぐ
終わりのない時間。
Mari Yoshida – Japanese
Моя голова — Земля
Моя голова — Земля
Моя голова — Земля,
кожа моя — воздух,
закат — мои волосы.
Я и есть Земля —
Открываю себя
и занимаюсь любовью
с небом.
Своим горизонтом
Соприкасаюсь с ним
и вечность нисходит
на меня
вместе с ночью.
Polina Cosgrove – Russian
الارض هي رأسي
الأرض هي رأسي،
جلدي الهواء
الغسق هو شعري.
أنا الأرض –
أنا افتح نفسي و أمارس الحب مع السماء.
في افقي نحن نتلامس
و الخلود يتدفق علي نفسي مع الضوء.
Ezaldin Thabet -Arabic
More
The participatory element of this project included the translation into 20 different languages.
“Axis Mundi” will be launched on Earth Day (22/04/21) at 7.30 pm on YouTube and zoom.
The project was commissioned by the Centre for Creative Practices and funded by the Art’s Council of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The English translation of the poem “My Head is the Earth.”
Csilla Toldy
Csilla Toldy’s poetry, short fiction and essays appeared in numerous literary magazines and anthologies. Her poetry collection Red Roots – Orange Sky was published by Lapwing Publications Belfast in 2013, followed by an anthology of short fiction, poetry and memoir with the title “The Emigrant Woman’s Tale” in 2015 and “Vertical Montage” in 2018, which was launched at Dublin Literary Festival. Csilla’s short story collection “Angel Fur and other stories” was published by Stupor Mundi Press, Fife and reviewed in Irish Times.
Csilla has an MA in creative writing for film and TV from Sheffield University. Her scripts won international prizes such as the Hartley-Merrie and Katapult Prize.
Csilla’s video poems were screened at the Videoholica Video Art Festival in Varna, the Mix2 Conference of Digital Writing at Bath University, and at the Lighthouse Art Centre in Poole, UK, during culture nights in Dublin and at Belfast Film Festival. “Bussokusekika” was selected for the ZEBRA International Poetry Film Festival in Munster. The video poem “Belfast Exposed”, she created for New Voices Ireland 7 won Best Street Art Film in Berlin. In 2020 Csilla was commissioned to create a video poem as a public artwork by the Executive Office of Northern Ireland for Holocaust Memorial Day.
csillatoldy.co.uk
Artist statement:
In my video poems, just as in poetry, I am interested in layers of meaning. Like you can read a poem many times and you discover new meanings, the same thing happens with video poems. The connection of text, sound and moving image create a new entity that comes about from the interconnected footage, sound and rhythm.
CFCP
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