The exhibition entitled "Mantra of Love" by Maja Andonova Jokić, which will be opened on May 22, at 20 p.m. in the gallery of the Youth Cultural Center in Skopje, will be an opportunity to discover a colorful world of beauty that is within our reach. the hand.

Painter Maja Andonova Jokić is a dreamer, an eternal optimist, a woman who likes to paint canvases, as well as life, with strong colors and memorable moments. She was born on May 4, 1980 in Skopje. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Skopje, and in his professional life he balances between the budgets and projects he works on that contribute to changes in society, on the one hand, and the creation of art on canvases, murals and running workshops for children and adults.

She is a seeker of answers about the human soul, a lover of yoga, sunrises, clouds and sunsets. Her paintings reflect the moments and experiences that wake us up, make us vulnerable, and at the same time very strong. Maja Andonova Jokić expresses those emotions with her own specific artistic expression.

The "Mantra of Love" exhibition will be opened in the MCC gallery on May 22. What is the main motive for setting up the exhibition and how many works will it contain?

– The exhibition will contain about fifty works created in the period from 2020 to 2023. Most of them were created during a period when we were closed at home, in quarantine, but each of us chooses whether to live in our own prison or to touch the points of greatest inner liberation. From this perspective, I want to share with the public the images that exude life, energy and faith that life is a beauty, which sometimes lifts us to the greatest heights, sometimes slides us down, but in each of those moments our inner guide tells us that everything is as it should be. Life is Beautiful.

The title reveals the theme of the exhibition, but with what feelings were the images created?

- These pictures show my personal spiritual experiences, distant inner journeys, as well as the satisfaction and joy of experiencing love. In them you will find the colors of the sunrise, the blue of the sky, the density of the clouds, the glow of the night moon, the ease of being when you are filled with inner peace and love.

What kind of internal process do you go through from the moment of the idea to the final stroke of the brush on a work?

- In the process of painting, I am guided by the inner urge to express the inner states, the emotional moments, those that moved me, displaced and set me up, either through a meeting, a conversation, a situation with certain people or through observing nature with all its beauty that is given to us . Observing the clouds, the sunrise, the course of the river or the width of the sea, the sunset and other beauties that are within our reach, and in this fast time of living, few allow themselves to open their eyes and enjoy those little things moments in the day or night, which can fill us with beauty and change us forever. I can express the inner journeys within myself and with myself that have brought me the discovery of new life wisdom in the best way purely and honestly through colors, brushes and the energy that leads me to show the colorfulness of living. I soak up the experiences and then allow myself to express the feelings through the colors on the canvas and paint the inner voice that experienced these moments.

Your works are very colorful. If colors had a voice, what would they say?

– Color your day, color your life with memorable moments. Step deep inside yourself, accept your imperfections and give yourself room for growth, self-knowledge and discovery of the deepest secrets. Nurture the beauty in yourself, be love, give a positive thought, be a better person. Changes in each individual affect changes in the whole. Let the change be love.

Do you remember what was the first inspiration to do painting and how much love is related to it?

- Ever since I have memories of myself, I know that it was easiest to express myself with crayons and chalk on the streets of Skopje. Life takes us in one direction or another, but what is in us as a calling, sooner or later, always finds its way. In 2001, when I lived in London, in that period of new faces, streets and a different time, I returned to colors again, during that period I painted on glass, and after I gave birth to my first child in 2007, I returned to canvases and acrylics. The simple feeling of freedom, the moment of being here and now, letting the energy of the universe guide me through the process. Love always finds its way, and painting is my love, every mixing of colors is my joy, the moments when the brush reflects my inner dimensions, thoughts, impressions of what was and visions of what will be. For me, love is creation, love is being here and now.

(The interview was published in "Cultural Press" number 179, in the printed edition of the newspaper "Sloboden Pechat" on 20-21.5.2023)