“The great journey” (2018)

“The great journey” I & II
Mixed media
Pigment print, 80×120 cm

In Varanasi, tourist boats drift along the Ganges, brushing past the fires of cremations. The sacred becomes a backdrop; death, a spectacle. Mirial blends the faces of classical paintings with those of present-day passengers, blurring the boundaries between time, gaze, and memory.

On the boat, a soul,an allegory of death, rises, as if the travelers were embarking alongside the deceased for a shared crossing of the Styx. Everything appears calm, almost beautiful.

Yet beneath the surface, something murmurs: a vibration, a breath, the memory of fire. The water carries away gazes as it carries away ashes, reminding us that no one crosses without leaving behind a fragment of themselves.