In Other Words

The Magic Porridge Pot A poor girl lived with her mother in a town. They were hungry, but they had nothing to eat. The girl said, ‘I’ll go into the wood to look for mushrooms and berries.’ There she met an old woman who said, ‘Take this pot. When you say to the pot: ‘Pot cook!’ then it will cook tasty porridge for you. When you say: ‘Pot stop!’ then it will stop cooking.’ ‘Thank you, many thanks,’ said the girl, and she went home with the gift.At home the girl said, ‘Pot cook!’ The porridge was sweet and tasty and eventually mother and daughter were full up. ‘Pot stop!’ said the girl, and the pot gave no more porridge. One day the girl went to visit friends. Later, her mother felt hungry, so she said, ‘Pot cook!’ The mother ate, but when she’d had enough porridge, she had forgotten the correct word to stop the pot. The pot cooked... and cooked ... and cooked! The kitchen was soon full of porridge! The house was soon full of porridge! The road and the neighbours’ houses were full of porridge! At last the girl came home again. ‘Pot stop!’ shouted the girl. The pot cooked no more porridge, but the people had to eat a great deal of porridge in order to get back into their houses! — Brothers Grimm, tale number 103 in “Grimm’s Fairy Tales”, 19th century “The Magic Porridge Pot”, title as translated in English, is a folkloric German fairy tale recorded by the Grimm Brothers. It is a short story with a simple plot where repetitive allegorical images and objects make their appearance. Recorded oral narratives, fairytales and folkloric storytelling such as the “Magic Porridge Pot” are still very much vivid and alive in our contemporary society. They are still present in our daily lives as they cope with topics and issues the world continues to face today. We can look deep within ourselves and magically so, they will slowly reveal themselves to us, how uniquelly they impact each one of us. How both as adults and children we surround ourselves with them, live and em- body them. And consequently, in which ways artists, who are continuously dealing with the senses, are influenced by these worlds. Pages imbued with magical presences, enchanted creatures, food, spells and charms, blurring the borders among light and dark. “In Other Words” is a group show comprised by three artists who interpret such topics in their practices, research and poetics. Transforming words, magical stories, in visual images, to be contemplated, heared, somehow touched. Literature and traditional stories, often include visions of a mystic nature, with forest and animals as potagonists. These artists are using a thousand year old images to make their own eternal beings of our time. So that we can explore the impact of words, their power in educating us and new generations, in enhancing our fantasy and inner worlds. Words are actually the pivotal tool. Words, mouth to mouth, have crossed centuries, as the most enduring stone. They were and are the most potent element to change perspectives. Thanks to them, artists can now generate their own stories.