I visited the new exhibition at Victoria Art Center yesterday, and, while I liked all the pieces, I was quite impressed with one of them in particular, Cătălin Burcea’s The First and The Last Step (Primul și ultimul pas, in Romanian).
The work consists of four segments of charred wood laid upon a narrow bed of sand. First things first: why four pieces and a single log? The parts may be a reference, perhaps, to the four nucleotide bases of a DNA strand, or, alternatively, to the idea of steps—considered separately from the first and the last step mentioned in the title. Moving on, it’s easy to see why these pieces of wood, passed through fire, a step before returning to the earth as ashes, is the last step (and you can see in the detail below how chips of it are already coming loose and taking that road). But how is it the first step? Maybe the fire that consumes us is a spiritual moment that allows us to be born. Maybe we’re already charred wood when we’re born (the old idea of birth as the first step towards death). I feel it’s this second idea, tied to birth, that gives this piece its oomph. The idea that with every breath we take we die a little—just as a light breeze will eat at this charred log.
Here’s a detail.
The Art Dive 
Mira Tudor, Thank you for the images and information. In particular, I like your observations that “Maybe the fire that consumes us is a spiritual moment that allows us to be born. Maybe we’re already charred wood when we’re born (the old idea of birth as the first step towards death). I feel it’s this second idea, tied to birth, that gives this piece its oomph. The idea that with every breath we take we die a little–just as a light breeze will eat at this charred log.” The input of air, depending upon the context, initially will enrage or subdue a fire.
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Yes, air, like water and fire, are both creators and destroyers. It would be nice to see more works of art about both these aspects of these forces of nature.
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Mira Tudor, Thank you for the images and the information. My previous comment must have not taken. However, I remember thinking about the wider context. Would the sand have been part of the artist’s creation or the gallery’s exhibition?
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The artist most likely keeps the sand as part of his work — just as Pina Bausch’s dancers used to bring their own fresh earth to the stage when they performed The Rite of Spring.
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