ALGE JULIJA

   There is a saying that person brings their talents from other Worlds. This Master Thesis Illuminated Table are not only to analyze table as a meeting point in relation with my Master works (Evening Breakfast and Mensa Illuminata), but actually to discover those Worlds which are the reason of works by itself. In this essay, I investigate the meaning of the table in various contexts in culture (mensam tollere, removere, exstruere) and religion (mensae deorum) of Jewish Mysticism, Hermetic Ancient Egypt Philosophy and Shia Islam. The text is based on my reflections on Jewish mysticist Gershom Scholem, one of the greatest Islamic philosophers Henry Corbin and Egyptologist and philosopher Algis Uždavinys. Moving from up to down and in circles I wonder about how our perception is shaped and how inherited cultural ignorance influence our beliefs. But at the most important about how a simple piece of furniture with a flat top and legs can be used in so many ways!

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In Kiasma - Museum of Contemporary Art Library, Helsinki