The Smirking Mystic, 2023

Dasha Pogodina   Best sellers Emerging artists

"The Smirking Mystic" playfully challenges us to see beyond the surface. This whimsical cat with its knowing smile seems to hint that there's more to our world than meets the eye. It's a lighthearted reminder to question our assumptions and enjoy the mysteries of life, acknowledging that reality might be more enchanting than we often realize.

Hokus-Pokus subseries In her series of works, artist Dasha explores the potential for the sacred to transform into the profane. She reflects on how people's worldviews have changed, when what was closed and sacred became publicly accessible. Dasha reflects on the degree of understanding of the knowledge we possess. Hocus Pocus the cat, with his sly smile, reminds us of the sacred Truth from Fauzl Volch's novel, making us wonder, "Are you sure about what you see?"
Dasha wonders how much she can correctly interpret a fact, being only a reader of an action retold a thousand times. She touches on the origin of the term "Hocus Pocus," whose exact history is not established, but there are several theories. One of the most common links it to a Latin expression from the Catholic Mass, "Hoc est corpus meum," which translates as "This is my body." The phrase was supposedly distorted and turned into "hocus-pocus" during the Reformation period in Europe, when Protestants used it to mock Catholic rituals.

In any case, the Hokus-Pokus cat keeps smiling, ironizing the seriousness and realizing that reality is often not what we think it is.
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