[spectre] Crustacea deleatur by Maja Smrekar at Aksioma Project Space, Ljubljana

[Aksioma]

Aksioma -- Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, presents:

*Maja Smrekar*
/*Crustacea deleatur*/
Solo show
http://www.aksioma.org/crustacea.deleatur

*Aksioma | Project Space*
Komenskega 18, Ljubljana
27 November - 7 December 2012

*Exhibition opening and presentation by Maja Smrekar and Al Vrezec:
Tuesday, 27 November 2012 at 7 pm*

The research into the phenomenon of foreign species within the project 
based on an example of degradation of biodiversity in the area of the 
thermal oxbow lake Topla near C(atez( in the Dolenjska region, where 
several tropical species of flora and fauna have settled, paraphrases 
the juxtaposition of ecology as a scientific discipline and Ecology as 
one of the ideologies of contemporary zeitgeist. Due to the changed 
mechanisms of natural selection, which are caused by globalisation and 
which establish new relations within ecosystems, behavioural and genetic 
transformations in foreign as well as domestic species have become quite 
common. These transformations result in the changed potential of their 
ecological niches; as a consequence, from a long-term perspective, these 
species represent the greatest threat to the humankind of all species.

The installation presents research into the possibilities of genetic or 
ecological »switch«, on the basis of which the foreign species from the 
thermal oxbow lake Topla could migrate into the near-by environment. The 
"barrier" in the artificially established ecosystem separates the living 
environment of the European crayfish (Astacus astacus) as a 
representative of the autochthonous species and that of the alochthonous 
(foreign) species -- the Australian red claw crayfish (Cherax 
quadricarinatus). The environment offers both species the opportunity to 
confront one another, which has not happened yet in nature.

The so-called "genetic reservoir" is designed as a prototype for a 
mobile live-in research unit, which metaphorically presents the human as 
the most invasive species of all.


*Maja Smrekar *was born 1978 in Slovenia, 2005 graduated at the 
Sculpture Department of Fine Art Academy in Ljubljana, currently 
finishing MA at the New Media Department. Her main interest is based at 
the phenomenology of perception which she first started reseraching 
through space phenomena by composing live video among various 
collaborations in interactive sound/visual projects with other artists. 
Her main artistic focus remains at the intermedia art field. Among 
others, she has been collaborating with Kapelica Gallery in Ljubljana 
for the last five years and with Aksioma Institute for the last two 
years. Under their production she has executed projects within which she 
was researching frequency phenomena through biofeedback and thelematic 
presence in relations to body, privacy and (inter)subjective perception 
of space. During the last two years she has been developing projects 
within the field of bioart with focus on living organisms. In 2010 she 
organised International Festival HAIP10/New Nature which has been 
focussed to interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration ethics between 
scientists and artists. The festival took place at Multimedia Centre 
Cyberpipe in Ljubljana where she has been active as an artistic director 
for two years. Maja Smrekar currently lives and works in Ljubljana, 
Slovenia.


The project has been carried out in collaboration with the Department 
for freshwater and land ecosystems at the National Institute of Biology 
in Ljubljana.
Consultancy on foreign species and collaboration on the infrastructure 
of live systems: Dr Al Vrezec
Architectural concept: Maja Smrekar and Andrej Strehovec, B. Arch.
Author of architecture: Andrej Strehovec, B. Arch.
Concept, design and execution of infrastructure: Marko Z(avbi, B. Eng. 
(Laboratory Biomedicine)
Anthropologico-sociological research: Nez(a Mrevlje

*Production:* Aksioma -- Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, 2012
www.aksioma.org <http://www.aksioma.org>

Artistic Director: Janez Jans(a
Executive Producer: Marcela Okretic(
Assistant Production: Sonja Grdina
Public Relations: Mojca Zupanic(
Technician: Valter Udovic(ic'

*
*/The programme of Aksioma Institute is supported by the Ministry of 
Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia and 
the Municipality of Ljubljana.
Sponsor: Datacenter d.o.o./

/*The project was conceived as part of the ARSCOPE project (Art-Science 
Co-OPeration Environment), which is co-funded by the EU Programme for 
Culture and which is carried out in partnership between TAKOMAT 
(Germany), CIANT (the Czech Republic) and AKSIOMA (Slovenia).
*/

*Contact:*
Marcela Okretic(, +386 41 250 830, aksioma4 at siol.net 
<mailto:aksioma4 at siol.net>
*Aksioma | Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana*
Neubergerjeva 25, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
www.aksioma.org <http://www.aksioma.org>




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