BARANKA

/ Microfiber concrete sculpture /
Measures: 1,8 x h 0,4 meters, weight Ca 2 tons

Author Olive Soomets

2024

The sculpture “Baranka” is a symbol of the sun and prosperity which is located in a wide field of meaning due to its universal geometry. Finally the content of an object with an intrinsically circular hole does not change much depending on the perspective: it does not matter whether it is seen as a trivial lifebuoy, a bauble, a circle of life or a life cycle or a baranka or something else entirely. While I modelling the sculpture I was particularly attracted by the ambivalent motif of the baranka which by the way is also one of the ways of making the ideal diet food – barankas are firstly boiled, then dried and finally baked in the oven – and of course I liked the barankas confusing history of the phenomenon and the fact that barankas were proudly worn around the neck as jewelry and a symbol of abundance.

It´s known that in the 17th century Russian families decorated their home walls with rounded baked sweets to emphasize their good life. It was a pagan custom as the barankas symbolized the sun. By filling your home with solar symbols it attracted more sun and therefore more wealth.

Historians emphasize that the baranka originate from the small town of Smorgon which has changed the name of the ruling country several times over time as a result of redistribution of borders – from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth then to the Russian Empire and to Belarus area today. These rings began their journey to northwestern Russia from Smorgon and then triumphantly across the world.