Date

15-28 October 2018

Location

Trieste, Italy

Exhibition

24 – 28  Nov, Bucharest

Overview

Our Nature represents the first curatorial theme in a series of Art & Science residencies organized in collaboration with FIT (Fondatione Internationale Trieste) under the umbrella of Pro-ESOF2020 (European Science Open Forum 2020).

The purpose of this residency was to build a collaborative bridge between artists and researchers from Eastern and Central Europe and to position the artist as a new interpreter of scientific information, making it possible to translate rigid scientific concepts into artistic creations and expressions.

Under the theme of Our Nature the participants explored both the human nature, the inner self, and the relationship between the individual and the environment. Thus many questions were raised on different topics, like self-awareness, emotions, sustainability, ecology and the environment, gene technology and cosmic chaos.

The Research Institutes

The participating Romanian artists visited 6 research institutes, where they had access to advanced scientific information – from astrophysics, biotechnology, spectroscopy, geophysics, genetics to marine sciences – supplemented with numerous debates, as well as opportunities to test specialized equipment.

The Exhibition

The Our Nature exhibition in Bucharest presented the results of the first Art meets Science residency project, that took place in Trieste, European City of Science. The special guest of this event was Prof. Paola Rodari – coordinator of ESOF 2020 (European Science Open Forum) who was our host, teacher, curator and guide in the artistic and scientific world of Italy.

The exhibition concluded the research and artistic production period of the 6 Romanian artists: Floriama Cândea (Bucharest), Tudor Ciurescu (Bucharest), George Crîngasu (Cluj-Napoca), Catrinel Săbăciag (Cluj-Napoca), Marius Jurca | 13m10j (Timișoara), Livia Mateiaș (Timișoara).

Floriama Cândea

Each Ship at (a) Time is an Unique Event

Inspired by the laboratory practices, Floriama’s series of objects pursues the aesthetics of organic matter and how it can be manipulated for non-instrumental purposes.

In this case, extracellular molds (ECMs) of animal organs coexist with artificial objects in an attempt to create uncertainty about the origin and integrity of matter. Deprived of their organic identity, the ghost organs, as they are called in the medical environment, remain suspended in this state – they become mere ornaments resembling the silicone implants that accompany them. This resemblance may raise questions about the redefinition of the boundary between animate and inanimate, between subject and object.

Tudor Ciurescu

Geste Quantique

There is a light and it never goes out, said the vocalist of The Smiths. In the quantum world, this verse is an absolute truth.

Inspired by the aesthetics of the visited research centers, Tudor’s work refers to the words that attracted his attentionQuantum Espresso. In fact, a series of open-source computer codes for nanoscale material modeling, in this case ….. endless possibilities.

Tudor Ciurescu

Geste Quantique

There is a light and it never goes out, said the vocalist of The Smiths. In the quantum world, this verse is an absolute truth.

Inspired by the aesthetics of the visited research centers, Tudor’s work refers to the words that attracted his attentionQuantum Espresso. In fact, a series of open-source computer codes for nanoscale material modeling, in this case ….. endless possibilities.

George Crîngașu

AGS (Automatic Growth Systems)

An idealized illustration of the process of organ growth, using stem cells. An incubation capsule of organs, a controlled environment for their development, based on renewable energy.

George’s work inspiration was ICGEB and their stem cell research, which would essentially allow the growth of human organs, using stem cells. What would a success in this context mean, namely the possibility of providing some kind of “spare parts” for the human body? How will this success influence our future, and the way we look at the human body?

13m10j / Marius Jurca

Brain Entropy

Brain Entropy is a scientific-artistic experiment, which aims to explore, from an aesthetic point of view, the new possibilities for artistic creation, using current technologies from the field of neuroscience.

The experiment, at an early stage of development, represents an attempt to visualize and objectify the neuronal processes manifested at brain level, using an interactive graphical interface, an electroencephalogram and a series of algorithms. The investigated mental process is the randomness, or better said, the entropy of the decision-making process, as an integrated part of the human identity.

13m10j / Marius Jurca

Brain Entropy

Brain Entropy is a scientific-artistic experiment, which aims to explore, from an aesthetic point of view, the new possibilities for artistic creation, using current technologies from the field of neuroscience.

The experiment, at an early stage of development, represents an attempt to visualize and objectify the neuronal processes manifested at brain level, using an interactive graphical interface, an electroencephalogram and a series of algorithms. The investigated mental process is the randomness, or better said, the entropy of the decision-making process, as an integrated part of the human identity.

Livia Mateiaș

Matter Between Us

What is real? Can we measure or define the reality of our perception?

“Matter Between Us” tries to make the invisible connection between two different energy fields visible. This can only be perceived by focusing the gaze on one point, so that the two fields merge and create a third field, which exists only at the level of perception, but which combines the two and creates a new model with different properties. This optical fusion offers a perspective on another layer of reality, one that can be perceived but is not real. Thus we can go back and ask again: What is real?

Catrinel Săbăciag

Timescapes : from Clocks to Outerspace

The starting point of Catrinel’s work was the pendulum, an object that is used in science and in everyday life to measure very different phenomena and frequencies of time. She chose three types of pendulums to illustrate how their behavior speaks about the temporal landscape of the space they measure.

The first, a clock pendulum, represents human time, with regular, predictable and mechanical movements. The middle one, a stone pendulum, characterized by chaotic and unpredictable movements, refers to the geological time. The third pendulum, representing the cosmic time, reproduces a vast, calm and silent temporal landscape.

Catrinel Săbăciag

Timescapes : from Clocks to Outerspace

The starting point of Catrinel’s work was the pendulum, an object that is used in science and in everyday life to measure very different phenomena and frequencies of time. She chose three types of pendulums to illustrate how their behavior speaks about the temporal landscape of the space they measure.

The first, a clock pendulum, represents human time, with regular, predictable and mechanical movements. The middle one, a stone pendulum, characterized by chaotic and unpredictable movements, refers to the geological time. The third pendulum, representing the cosmic time, reproduces a vast, calm and silent temporal landscape.

Gallery

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Co-financed by the National Cultural Fund Administration

The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the way the project results can be used. These fall entirely under the responsibility of to the beneficiary of the funding.