Who do memories belong to? Slovak artist Monika Pascoe Mikyšková’s exhibition is dedicated to St. John’s wort and to her grandmother, who collected it and was a model of femininity and inner strength in the artist’s childhood.

A meadow on a hill, we are bending over together and gathering yellow flowers. I am at my grandmother’s side, I am four or five years old. I ask what the herbs are used for, and my grandmother answers, for cleansing. This is the oldest memory I have of us together. A year after her son died, she is gathering perforate St. John’s wort at our cottage. — Monika Pascoe Mikyšková

Perforate St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum, known colloquially in Czech as enchanter or St. John’s blood) is known for its use as a nerve calmer, a sleep aid, and an antidepressant. The word hypericum comes from the Greek hyper (above) and eikon (icon), after a custom of hanging the herb above icons as a protection against evil. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was often burned to ward off evil spirits and diseases. When cows ate St. John’s wort in their pastures, its red liquid turned their milk pink, which people in the Middle Ages incorrectly attributed to an evil spirit possessing the cows.

Monika Pascoe Mikyšková is interested in plants and their medicinal effects. The memories of St. John’s wort thus become not just her memories, but also those of her grandmother – and, at the same time, the memories of all those who have ever gathered it.

Main Partners:

Special thanks: Johanna Grigarová, Dionýz Troskó, JAF HOLZ spol. s r.o., Ferona, a.s., BALSHOP