Painting as Communication with the Deceased and Other Non-Human Beings
Tomaž Simetinger
Studia Mythologica Slavica August 31, 2026 DOI: 10.3986/sms20262911 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | A contemporary Slovenian painter named Ana, compared with the historical spiritualist painters Georgiana Houghton and Hilma af Klint |
| Key findings | Argues that painting can function as a relational practice for connecting the living with the dead and other non-human beings, emerging through bodily perception and learning rather than fixed belief. The comparison between Ana's sensitivity to presence and the passive mediumship of Houghton and af Klint is said to reveal a shift from hierarchical revelation toward relational creation, in which painting acts as a liminal object and process that gives temporary stability to these connections. |
Abstract
The article examines painting as a practice of relating to the dead and other non-human beings in contemporary and historical contexts. Drawing on vernacular religion, it approaches these relationships not as fixed beliefs system but as experiences emerging through bodily perception, learning, and artistic practice. The article focuses on ethnographic research with a contemporary Slovenian painter, Ana, whose painting develops through sensitivity to presence rather than trance or mediumistic possession. Her practice is compared with the spiritualist painting of Georgiana Houghton and Hilma af Klint, where artistic creation relied on passive mediumship and the subordination of the artist’s body to spiritual agencies. The comparison reveals a shift from hierarchical models of revelation toward relational forms of creation, in which painting functions both as a liminal object and relational process through which connections between the living and the dead acquire temporary stability.