POROUS MATTER. Void Fractions in Materials, Ideas, and Society
22 Sep '23 – 27 Jan '24
Organizer
META Spatiu Association
Venue
META Spatiu Gallery
Bulevardul Mihai Viteazu nr. 1,
Timisoara, Romania
Featured Artists
Floriama Candea, Maria Castellanos, Cosmin Haias, Stahl Stenslie
Featured Scientist
Florin Dragan (UPT), Alex Hansen (Porelab), Liviu Marsavina (UPT), Marcel Moura (Porelab)
Curated by
Mirela Stoeac-Vlăduți
About the Exhibition
POROUS MATTER. Void Fractions in Materials, Ideas, and Society delves into the concept of “porous matter” and explores its implications in various contexts. Through an interdisciplinary approach that combines art, science and societal perspectives, the exhibition aims to shed light on the hidden beauty and deeper meaning of the “void fractions” in our world.
The four artists from Romania and Norway – Floriama Cândea, Maria Castellanos, Cosmin Haiaș, Stahl Stenslie, together with four scientists – Florin Drăgan (UPT), Alex Hansen (Porelab), Liviu Marșavina (UPT), Marcel Moura (Porelab) and the project's curatorial team – Mirela Stoeac-Vlăduți (curator) and Loredana Nedelcu (assistant curator), examine through their works and perspectives the complex relationship between porous materials and the impact of their research on ideas and society as a whole. Through the contemporary art installations created, artistic and scientific experiments, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the multifaceted nature of empty fractions and their role in shaping our physical and conceptual environment.
POROUS MATTER provides a unique platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, collaboration and exchange. By interweaving artistic expression with scientific research, the exhibition challenges conventional boundaries, arouses curiosity and opens new avenues of exploration, prompting visitors to question the permeability of structures, the gaps in knowledge and social, ecological and technological implications arising from the concept of porous matter.
As we navigate through the exhibition space, we are encouraged to consider the complex interconnectedness of materials, ideas and society: from the microscopic voids in porous substances to the intangible gaps in our understanding, 'porous matter' offers an engaging journey that expands our perception and invites us to reimagine the world around us.
The exhibition POROUS MATTER is the result of a close collaboration between artists, scientists, curators and collaborators from the three partner universities, which began as early as 2022 with lab visits, the performance of numerous scientific experiments, working sessions and multiple dialogues.
Artists & Featured Works
Floriama Cândea
Internal flow Studies
The work Internal Flow Studies consists of three kinetic installations that stand as a visual testimony to natural phenomena, almost invisible to the naked eye. The artist constructs a simulation of the porous environment to illustrate the mysteries of fluid flow, while attempting to control the process. Contrary to the nature and arbitrary aspect of this phenomenon, the need for control arises as a technical exercise for understanding the principles and physics underlying the fluid flow process. In addition to this scientific layer, Floriama Cândea wraps her study in poetry, outlining with a single continuous line the “venous system” of a leaf and revealing unseen inner processes.
cca 1x3x2 m
2023
María Castellanos
Cyborg Placenta
Cyborg Placenta is a projection of future possibilities and a study of the properties and function of the placenta outside the female body. As a porous medium, the placenta is a vital organ containing stem cells that serves both to obtain nutrients for the fetus and to eliminate waste – an organ with bi-directional cell traffic. It develops in an invasive way in a woman's uterus, being an extracorporeal transitional organ. In this work, the artist imagines the future of this organ and questions the possibility of the placenta surviving after birth and its use to treat various diseases (e.g. cancer). The ability to store and use one's own stem cells would allow for personalised therapies for each individual, more effective treatments for a wide variety of medical conditions.
32x32x27 cm
Technical development: Alberto Valverde
5 min
The video contains images created by the artist in combination with images from a porous media flow experiment. Experiment designed by Marcel Moura at PoreLab, Department of Physics, University of Oslo.
Cosmin Haiaș
H111 – unFortune Cookies
Cosmin Haiaș experiments with soft robotics and CO2 in the H111 – unFortune Cookies. The artist has built an interactive installation in the form of a robot that captures CO2 from an individual's breath. Although at first glance it appears to be an inert presence, the robot comes to life once it feels the human's exhaled air, revealing from its clenched fingers negative messages deeply rooted in our collective anxiety about the future. Cosmin Haiaș has thus created a mirror of human consciousness, an installation that forces us to confront our own fears and uncertainties. In interacting with the robot, we are forced to ask ourselves: are we ourselves the generators of these negative messages about the future or are we their prisoners?
ICE
The ICE installation consists of a special device that produces snow and ice. In the current context of global warming, a bleak future is looming in which the natural elements are disappearing. ICE reminds us that what we now consider commonplace – a simple ice cube – could become a precious exhibit in the world's great museums, a relic of the disappearing future. The work thus reveals a dystopian future, in which ice becomes a symbol of loss and human neglect.
Scientists & Featured Works
Marcel Moura
Porous Hypnosis 1 and All roads are porous
Marcel Moura is a scientist and physicist at the PoreLab science centre in Norway, whose main area of work is fluid mechanics and experiments on how liquids and gases move within a porous network. For the first time, Marcel has created a work of art that mimics real natural phenomena under laboratory conditions. Porous Hypnosis 1 and All roads are porous are 3D printed transparent porous structures that are a visualisation of how water infiltrates into the ground during rainfall or how fluids move through rocks and other porous media. Through this work, Marcel Moura demystifies invisible scientific processes and presents the hidden beauty of the world.
Syringes, tubing
20x20x8 cm
2023
Syringes, tubing
20x20x8 cm
2023
Stahl Stenslie
Fluid processor for ecological computing
Fluid processor for ecological computing is a bridge between the natural world and the digital world, bringing the principles of porous media and fluid flow to the fore in a surprising way. The work consists of two key elements: a digital generation of fluid flow in a porous material and a 3D printed cube that is shaped like a porous chamber. The image reveals a subtle dance of molecules, a digital illustration of a natural phenomenon, but also an exploration of the computational potential of these processes. The transparent cube, a prototype of the liquid computing device built on the principles of nature, houses a porous sphere inside, its walls lined with intricate channels that guide the path of water through this artificial porous medium. Stahl Stenslie's work represents a unique synthesis of art, science and technology, a manifestation of artistic imagination and innovation.
5x5x5 cm, 1x1m, video loop
2023
Exhibition Views
The project POROUS MATTER. Void Fractions in Materials, Ideas, and Society benefits from a € 85977 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants. More info on www.eeagrants.ro
EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.