SATURNUS

 

Olfactory object, immersive and site-specific installation, 2023

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Saturn (Lat. Saturnus) is one of the most ancient Roman gods; his cult was among the most widespread in Italy. He corresponds to the Greek Cronus, the god of time and agriculture, who, according to myth, devoured his own children.

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A separate space within the immersive installation is conceived as a fantasy adyton for the oracle – the inner temple room to which access was once forbidden to mere mortals. The adyton is recreated according to descriptions from ancient texts for individual incense rituals and is intended for the interpretation of prophecies. Therefore, it is best to encounter Saturn individually, in a séance-like ritual, as in the pre-modern era.

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The olfactory object is a miniature fantasy reconstruction of the Temple of Saturn in Rome on the Capitoline Hill. The shape of an antique 19th-century French wall clock broadly resembles the façade of an ancient Greek or Roman temple and includes a stereobate, Doric columns, an entablature, and a pediment.

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The symbolic language of colour has astrological implications. The black of the clock symbolises Saturn: restriction, non-manifestation, submission, passivity, the outer world that covers all colours at night. Red represents the blood from the devouring of children and the fire of ritual flames.

The Greeks associated scents with the gods; each deity had their own unique fragrance. Scents were brought as gifts to the gods in the form of fragrant wreaths.

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At different times, Varna was part of Macedonia and of the Roman Empire, allowing us to imagine what a temple dedicated to Cronus or Saturn might have looked like more than two thousand years ago. The project was developed and realised for an exhibition in Varna and takes into account the historical context of the space.

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Publications about project:

2025 “Lisa Shtormit-Rommé”, Visual art journal, USA

2024 “10 Questions with Lisa Rommé”, Contemporary art magazine Altiba9, Spain

2024 “Lisa Rommé”, Titan contemporary publishing, USA

2024 “Lisa Rommé | Sculpture & Installation. Directory 2024”, Contemporary art magazine Altiba9, Spain 

2024 “Lisa Shtormit”, Artist close up Magazine, Netherlands

2024 “Lisa Stormit (Rommé): ‘Art is not cowardice; it has other objectives.”, PERSPÉCTUM Online media and publishing house, Russia