Ilitterate Man Uncarved Wood

The book as a theoretical concept and as an object is a key element in Mitrentse's work. Its history, part of the history of the whole civilization, nowadays tends to become a part of the past as it often becomes a feature of other times. The transition to the digital age, the marginalization of the book, its transformation into an intangible digital object, is of great concern to the artist, who attempts in her works to give her own interpretation of this transition, of the future of the book and, more generally, of how future generations are to perceive its value and role. In this sculptural composition Mitrentse uses the owl or owl, an element of Greek mythology, a symbol of the goddess Athena. From antiquity to the present day, the owl has been identified with wisdom, a symbol of knowledge, insight and erudition. The artist places it at the top of a handmade pedestal made of books, but which cannot be read, creating a series of associations in relation to wisdom and the prohibition on knowledge.