𝗙𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻:𝗔𝗜𝗥

Curator: Raluca Oancea
Art Director: Mihaela Ghiță

Held over 3 weeks, the free exhibition showcased 6 original and unique artworks created by artists from Romania, Germany and Bulgaria.

"Fusion:AIR stands at the intersection of #biophilia and #technophilia, offering an innovative vision of how contemporary art can contribute to overcoming the global ecological crisis. Inspired by the manifesto "Living in the Anthropocene" (Crutzen & Schwägerl, 2011), the exhibition refuses both the utopias of a lost natural paradise and the dystopias of a completely artificial world, proposing instead a territory of interpenetration and hybridization between human and nonhuman, between organic and technology. Participating artists find their inspiration in posthumanist and eco-phenomenological theorists, outlining new relationships between born and built, between nature and culture. Fusion AIR: Biophilia Technophilia brings to the forefront creations that harness the laws of nature and technological innovations, reflecting both the beauty and complexity of the contemporary world." (Raluca Oancea, curator of the exhibition.)

𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮 investigates in 𝐼𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠, the memory and microscopic structure of stone, exploring the preservation and transformation of zeolitic volcanic tuff through plasma treatment. The work raises questions about perception and memory in the face of the passage of time.

𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘂 reveals through the interactive installation 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑎 the fragile relationship between humanity and the sun, emphasizing how the source of life can also become a risk factor. No one knows what the sound of solar explosions is, but Denis invites visitors to discover it through an interactive installation.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑦: Bulgarian artist 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘃𝗮 places 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, a concept from quantum physics that suggests that effects can influence causes, at the heart of her work. . "We don't know yet if the future can influence the past." The work talks about the history of the Oteteleșanu Manor which functioned as a girls' school. Now at Măgurele, many women work and are active. Maria's work explores the fluid connections between human and nonhuman, using water from Oteteleșanu Lake and microscopic images to speculate retrocausality.

𝗠𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗶 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂 (𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑡/𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡?) compares the durability of traditional scrolls with the fragility of modern digital media, inviting visitors to reflect on how art and memory can be preserved over time.

𝗢𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸 proposes the 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐹𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡, an interactive sculpture involving earthworms as the main actors, symbolizing the transformation of natural materials into a new fertile layer of soil, demonstrating the regenerative continuum of nature.

𝗭𝗼𝗶𝘁̦𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗮̆𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂 will present the experiment 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑂𝑓 𝐴 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒 which studies the impact of different irrigation methods on plants, including experimental techniques such as plasma-activated water, in order to discover solutions for adapting to the future climate.

Scientific institutes:
National Institute for Laser, Plasma& Radiation Physics
National Institute of Materials Physics
ISS - Institute of Space Science
Institute of Research and Development for Textiles and Leather
Universitatea de Științe Agronomice și Medicină Veterinară București

Institutional partners:
Goethe Institute
/SAC - Contemporary Art Space