oda [revisited]
january 2024
isniq, kosovë
oda [revisited]
is a stillleben of one corner of our old oda.
oda sometimes also called oda e burrave is intended as large, ornate room to receive and entertain guests. the addendum e burrave already implies that the people present in this room were men. story-telling, political debates and other artistic forms would have their space within an oda. indeed, it was also a space in which there were temporary shifts or subversions of traditional roles, with young men serving coffee, çaj, and snacks.
this oda is situated in our old house. this explains the various elements in the composition, with the chair most prominently showcasing the time passing. our old house sits diagonally from our new houses and is always in sight. our family’s usage of the oda deviated from its traditional use. it was rather a playground for my cousins and i by day, and a bedroom for the smaller kids in the family and our aunts. i vividly recall building fortresses or jumping onto a handful of mattresses from the extra bouncy couch.
the ornaments adorning the oda are steeped in tradition. the paneling of the ceiling as well as the floral patterns in the carpet, the seat cover, and the curtains encase the [now stained] white walls. hand-made tapestries constitute important features and would pick up on important motifs and/or colors in albanian culture.
revisiting the oda is something i try to do regularly, when i’m in kosovë. this is also due to the lack of oda in our new houses. furthermore, various compositions within our old house, such as this one, have remained the same over the years -- in photographing them, i can secure their immortality.
january 2024
isniq, kosovë
oda sometimes also called oda e burrave is intended as large, ornate room to receive and entertain guests. the addendum e burrave already implies that the people present in this room were men. story-telling, political debates and other artistic forms would have their space within an oda. indeed, it was also a space in which there were temporary shifts or subversions of traditional roles, with young men serving coffee, çaj, and snacks.
this oda is situated in our old house. this explains the various elements in the composition, with the chair most prominently showcasing the time passing. our old house sits diagonally from our new houses and is always in sight. our family’s usage of the oda deviated from its traditional use. it was rather a playground for my cousins and i by day, and a bedroom for the smaller kids in the family and our aunts. i vividly recall building fortresses or jumping onto a handful of mattresses from the extra bouncy couch.
the ornaments adorning the oda are steeped in tradition. the paneling of the ceiling as well as the floral patterns in the carpet, the seat cover, and the curtains encase the [now stained] white walls. hand-made tapestries constitute important features and would pick up on important motifs and/or colors in albanian culture.
revisiting the oda is something i try to do regularly, when i’m in kosovë. this is also due to the lack of oda in our new houses. furthermore, various compositions within our old house, such as this one, have remained the same over the years -- in photographing them, i can secure their immortality.