Group exhibition “Symbiosis of the Material”, Arkhangelsk, Gostiny Dvor.
The exposition was compiled on the basis of the results of the educational laboratory “Symbiosis of the Material”. The exhibition featured installations, video materials, sculptures – works of contemporary art, the authors of which were inspired by the history of the extraction and processing of Arctic algae, the unique scientific knowledge that exists in the region.
As the curators of the project note, this is the first exhibition project based on the synthesis of art and science, this is what the world calls science art. “The symbiosis of the material was the first experience in the field of science art in Arkhangelsk,” said Kristina Dryagina, curator of the CCA ARKA.
In order to create works at the intersection of contemporary art and science, artists from Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Moscow and graduates of the Free Workshops School of Contemporary Art (Moscow Museum of Modern Art) got acquainted with the practice of processing algae, walked around the city, attended lectures and researched White Sea.
The main idea of the entire laboratory week, in which the artists were, is that the direction of science-art always exists in the dialogue between scientists and artists. At the algae plant, the artists were shown how kelp is processed.
Materials: recycled plastic, rubber, acrylic paint, electric motor, wood.
Natalia Popova:
“My work is called Animatropism. The residency gave me a lot of inspiration to work in the art & science media and my installation “Animatropism” was the first work in this direction, which I will develop, continuing the study of the living-non-living area. This is the first work in which an electric motor is used, which sets the details of the installation in motion.»