Sanja Tomic: Dancing on the walls

1. African blues
‘African blues’ – Africa in Sanja’s backyard  

“I had a dream that I was a poet and a warrior, that I was light and darkness, but I was water that swamped warriors boots and turn them into flowers. Africa is black like me, and Africa dances in rhythm of tam-tam, Africa is arousing and blooming in blood” says Sanja Tomic, journalist and artist from Belgrade.

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Work in progress -Sanja Tomic is creating another ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ mosaic

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Almost done – ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’

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The beautiful corner of – ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’

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‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – not finished yet

2. Living water - Ziva voda

Living water – another Sanja’s creation on her yard’s wall  

“When I moved to Zemun, walls in the courtyard were crumbling and shriveled from moisture. That was five years ago. Next summer my sister told me she wanted to make a mosaic in the bathroom. That’s when I remembered my withered walls. Tiles were gifted to me by some company that makes them, and their architect advised me to buy tile adhesive. On the Internet I found a video on laying tiles… That’s how I started smashing them instead of myself… I started speaking in pictures, because I was silent for years, I had nothing to say to myself or others…So I have been coloring walls for four years.

3. Magic forest - magicna suma

Magic forest 

Tiles were soon joined by shapes of African houses and snails. I have two snails, one was made by my sister Mersa, green, and I made another one across the courtyard that is yellow like the Sun. Because, we the people are slugs, and just some of us, like the two on my walls, have homes to hide in. This mosaic on the wall nobody can step on, and it has mirrors so we can all see how human we are.

4. Mandolin of Captain Luke

Mandolin of Captain Luke

And when I open my windows, I see Africa dancing. It’s rising and setting before my eyes, because I don’t see it as bloody and miserable, as blood is drained from her veins, as man is taking her soul…

Today, Africa sings and dances’. ©

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Sanja Tomić, novinarka, umetnica iz Beograda

Afrika pleše ples noći

‘Sanjala sam da sam pesnik i ratnik, da sam svetlo i tama, a bila sam voda koja je zalila ratničke čizme i pretvorila ih u cveće. Afrika je crna kao i ja, i Afrika pleše u ritmu tam-tama, Afrika se budi i cveta u krvi’, kaze Sanja Tomić, novinarka i umetnica iz Beograda.

‘Kad sam se doselila u Zemun, zidovi u dvorištu su bili oronuli i uveli od vlage. To je bilo pre pet godina. Sledećeg leta sestra mi je rekla da želi da napravi mozaik u kupatilu. Tad sam se setila svojih oronulih zidova. Pločice mi je odmah poklonila firma ‘Diplon’ a njihov arhitekta me je posavetovao da kupim lepak za kamen. Na internetu sam našla video o tome kako se lepe pločice… Tako sam počela da razbijam njih, umesto sebe… I progovorila u slikama, jer sam godinama ćutala, nisam imala šta da kažem ni sebi ni drugima… I tako četiri godine šaram zidove.

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“Trojstvo”

Pločicama su se ubrzo pridružili i obluci za afričke kuće i puževe. Imam dva puža, jedan mi napravila sestra Mersa, zeleni, a ja sam napravila drugi preko puta da bude žut kao sunce. Jer, mi smo ljudi puževi golaći, a samo pojedini, kao ova moja dva zidna, imaju kućicu da se u njoj sakriju.

Ovaj mozaik sa zidova niko ne gazi, a ima i ogledala da se svi ogledamo koliko smo ljudi.

I kad otvorim prozor, vidim Afriku kako pleše. Ona mi sviće i zalazi pred očima, jer ja je ne vidim krvavu i jadnu, kako joj vade krv iz vena, kako joj čovek vadi dušu…

Afrika danas peva i pleše. ©

7 thoughts on “Sanja Tomic: Dancing on the walls

  1. Mary M. Scott

    ‘I started speaking in pictures, because I was silent for years, I had nothing to say to myself or others’ – i feel the same, but i need to find my way to express myself. I seems it is much harder for people who are not artist… Very beautiful article. She is amazing woman

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