The "Non-Parallel Straight Lines" showcase features projects from the first year of the Art & Science Master's program at ITMO University. The exhibition consists of 21 works, each created by students specifically for the summer presentation in the workshops of Dmitry Morozov (::vtol::), Helena Nikonole, and Ippolit Markelov.
Workshops are a format where students develop and implement their ideas under the guidance of professional artists.
The title "Non-Parallel Straight Lines" highlights the main focus of the Master's program — the symbiosis of art, science, & technology. In Euclidean geometry, if two lines are not parallel, they will inevitably intersect at some point in space. In the context of scientific and technological art, this metaphor points to the endless potential for the emergence of new points of interdisciplinary collaboration, a development fostered by the Art & Science Center.
This year’s summer showcase revolves around the exploration of the "technological" phenomenon and its multiple roles in the contemporary world. The starting point for these reflections is not rational laws but poetic thinking, which allows the "unknown" to manifest itself in the familiar objects around us.
Thanks to advancements in bioengineering, cellular biology, and synthetic biology, artists today have the opportunity to integrate scientific tools into artistic practice. Ippolit Markelov’s workshop specializes in biotechnological art.
In search of ways to make the symbiosis of nature and technology more sustainable, the workshop participants developed projects that combine the potential of both the technical and natural sciences. Central themes in their work include rethinking the boundaries of the living, exploring new foundations for interspecies communication, and imagining the future of science through a departure from anthropocentric thinking.
Projects created in Helena Nikonole’s workshop focus on exploring the role of technology in modern society. Artists working in this workshop use various media as both tools and objects of critical analysis of the surrounding reality. By incorporating information technology, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, the artists reflect on the dynamics of power, alternative strategies for modeling it, the use of digital tools to create balanced social relationships, and how technology can aid in the process of reflecting on historical memory.
In Dmitry Morozov’s workshop, participants worked with robotics, programming, and sound to create DIY devices, interactive installations, and media objects. The projects, which intersect analog and digital technologies, reconsider the nature of technology and the boundaries of its applicability, reflect on the future development of techno-science and the economy, and use the tools they have developed to convey personal narratives within the exhibition space.

Artists:

Alexandra Mikhailova, Ekaterina Kulakova, NeonRat, Kira G, Polina Kudinova, SYMETRIA, Veronika Neputina, Daria Krivaya (anger.burg), CyberKitty, Yan Titov, Ekaterina Guseva, Regina Starovoitova, Elena Sokolova, Victoria Terra, Anastasia Sadovnik, Kudaletitkukuhka, Daria Grigorash, Sofia Egorova, Sasha Shchos, Anna Uyutova, danya, Anastasia "nuamor" Romanishina, Irina Korolyova, Polina Pakhomova, AXNHER, Daria Zakharova, Ekaterina Smirnova, Veronika Kislova, Diana Nemikhina.

Art & Science Centre Team:

Olga Vad, Art & Science Master’s program supervisor
Elizaveta Menis, head of Center
Lina Kipriyushina, deputy director, master’s program supervisor
Aliya Sakhareva, deputy director for educational projects
Tatyana Bukareva, master’s program coordinator
Ippolit Markelov, BioArt Lab director
Maria Moshchenskaya, BioArt Lab junior research fellow
Veronika Prizova, BioArt Lab junior research fellow

Exhibition Team:

Khristina Ots, exhibition curator
Alexey Feskov, technical director
Asya Kaplan, public program curator, editor

Mila Lutsyk, design and layout
Ekaterina Yudaeva, marketing manager