The Bed and the Post

author Armin Holzner
written by Vera Grimmer

 

Picture one: a vineyard above the Dragonja valley, somewhere between Brdo and Bri~. Among the vines you catch a glimpse of a tall post built of wicker, called vengi in Istria and used to tie the vines to the stakes. Inside the wicker post stands a man with arms stretched out horizontally. His torso is one with the post; it is reminiscent of the signposts found along country roads. The wicker post is both a dwelling and a tight corset shielding this lonesome inhabitant. It grows out of the landscape and is part of it, inseparable from the tall vines that surround it.  

 

Picture two: Under the cemetery wall, a wicker bed is fixed to the ground by brass spikes. A man, wrapped only in a white sheet, sits in this open box gazing at the scenery before him, which is unseen by the viewer. All four sides of the bed are turned down but they could also fold over its occupant and turn the bed into a coffin.