Talaya Schmid Installation Art

A scorching, hot day, treading the beautiful, winding streets, and splendid corso of the Mediterranean city of Rijeka , led me to crave shelter and comfort, which I found at my intended eventual destination, the Rijeka Museum of Contemporary Art.
The museum showcases art from Croatia and beyond, and I was fortunate enough to see two splendid exhibitions.

The most immediately welcoming to me after my sweltering wanderings was the Talaya Schmid exhibition, which was absolutely beautiful, but even more important at the time, offered a selection of wonderful soft sculpture chairs, a freezer full of ice pops, and even a tent to hang out in.

I’m often a bit dubious about overtly feminist or sexualised art, simply because usually it just tries too hard and can be preachy or maybe it just isn’t even interesting art. I was actually charmed by Talia Schmid’s work and spent a good hour or possibly even more in the space, sitting in every single seat and looking intently at each of her soft sculpture pieces.
The installation, and each piece , are based on the theme of the vulva, an often misunderstood but symbolically powerful body part, which has been replicated a lot in sacred and mystical imagery, but almost never in artistry. 20th-century artists finally addressed the i vulva with the foremost, and to my mind, greatest being Georgia O’keefe. Shmid’s work is really gorgeous, and also whimsical and fun without being silly.

When I arrived, there were two young women in there, who were clearly taking advantage of the comfort of the space to engage in deep intense conversation. Eventually they left and I had the installation to myself for awhile, and I really luxuriate in the opportunity to commune with the artwork, and actually think about the way in which the body is represented in art. I thought about the secret parts of the body, which have also long been associated with shame, a Shame which is actually pointless. I’m not saying we should go round, exposing our vulvas to the world, but representing the vulva is a very powerful and beautiful thing in art.
This brought me to contemplate something I only learnt about recently, which was the Sheela na gig* – Irish Vulva goddesses – which you can see here.

I’m certainly interested to see more of Schmid’s work, and I hope that this Zürich-based artist, who studied in London, make a return to London for an exhibition . I think it’s really great that the Rijeka Contemporary Art Museum showcased Schmid. It is brave work and very beautifully curated.

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*Sheela na gig

Sheela na gigs are figurative sculptures of naked females with a prominent vulva. They are architectural grotesques seen on cathedrals, castles, and other structures throughout much of Europe but mostly in Ireland Ireland has 101 instances and 45 examples in the rest of the British Isles.

The carvings may have been used to protect against death, evil, and demons.[ (apotropaic magic). They are frequently placed over doors or windows, ostensibly to guard these apertures.

• MMSU – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
• Krešimirova 26c, Rijeka
• Regular working hours:
• Tue – Fri: 12 pm – 7 pm
  Sat – Sun: 12 pm – 5 pm
  *Closed on Mondays and Holidays