Healing the city through land art

Zagreb is not the only city in the world that once placed its trust in the Slovenian thinker and artist Marko Pogačnik, who practices lithopuncture as his signature artistic expression. His lithopuncture cycle has visited several continents since the 1980s. It was Zagreb’s turn back in 2004, when the artist mapped out the key points of his artwork, including the city’s spine. The idea of a spine works as an energetic organisation along a line that connects the fragmented parts of the city back into a whole.  

This rock is a remnant of Zagreb’s lithopuncture

The lithopuncture of Zagreb was created, but most of it hasn’t survived. You can still find a large granite rock near the Museum of Contemporary Art. The rock itself used to be there (well, not right there - closer to a pyramidal monument nearby) before the Museum of Contemporary Art was built.  Inspect it up close, and you will spot the cosmogrammes - symbols that represent the identity of a certain space.

One of the cosmogrammes

All of this at times sounds crazy, at times like it reflects an ancient wisdom, and sometimes plain enigmatic. Equally enigmatic was the art’s removal. Parts of the installation were abruptly removed without any announcement or warning, soon after they were installed. This sparked all sorts of theories, just as it sparked the artist’s disappointment. One theory that has circulated over the years is that Zagreb already had something similar to lithopuncture, as some existing monuments could also be seen as such pressure points. That theory implies that Pogačnik’s lithopuncture interfered with the energetic fields of the city. Actually, the artist himself included some of the existing monuments in his plan. Pogačnik’s work is very intriguing, but so is the fact that a part of it disappeared from Zagreb. Even if it formed a part of the cityscape, the general public wasn’t aware of its existence - it still isn’t - so the disappearance didn’t attract much attention at the time. The artist fought for his artwork, demanding an explanation from the authorities, but the complete lithopuncture of Zagreb lives on only in the unusual online museum MORE - Museum of Refused and Unrealised Art Projects.  

There is another curious ecological artwork by Marko Pogačnik and co-artists in Zagreb, and this one you can still enjoy right there where it was meant to be. It’s the Solar Plexus of Europe. Find it on the Otok mladeži (Island of Youth) at the Jarun lake. Seven large blocks form the spine of Europe, and 24 granite blocks form 2 circles. Each block represents one of the key energetic points in Europe. For each of them, a special cosmogramme was crafted. An extensive plaque nearby explains the reasoning behind all of this.  

Part of the Solar Plexus of Europe with the backdrop of an imitation of a Tesla tower

Does a dash of esoteric mystery attract you to areas outside of the city centre? Visit the area around the Museum of Contemporary Art or Jarun Lake, and delve into the secrets of the unique land art that sees the Earth, and our cities as living organisms.

Spot some people to get the idea of the size of the rocks

Author: Iva SIlla