The summer showcase of ITMO University Art & Science MA is held for the second time. It presents the artworks made by first year students as a result of art & science workshops: Digital Worlds led by Helena Nikonole; Bioart, Biodesign and Live Materials led by Ippolit Markelov; Robototechnics and Interactive Art led by Dmitry Morozov (::vtol::).
The projects were not created within a certain framework, but appeared to be united by the urge to reveal the hidden. The concept of the hidden is considered by artists in different ways: from the materialistic position of science, through the analytical dimension of artistic creativity or speculative aspiration to the future. Thematically, projects can be divided into research of the “uncanny,” reflection on the digital, and the search for the connections between humans and non-human entities.
The exhibition is divided into two halls, where projects enter into dialogue, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of art & science. The first hall is called “Dark Reflections.” It addresses the ideas of dark philosophy and seeks to look beyond the boundaries of the unseen. The second hall, “Synthetic Worlds,” explores the potential of technology and science to reassemble the world and the means of transition to a “digital state.”
Hall 1: Dark Reflections
The should have remained secret and hidden, but has come to the light.
The Uncanny, S. Freud
The projects located in this hall offer us to plunge into the reality of the invisible. Some seek to understand nature and culture through scientific methods. Others turn to the dark side of love and attraction, presenting us with the eerie things that lie behind these romanticized concepts. In the same space, the artists touch on the themes of violence against women and offer alternative protection scenarios inspired by the natural world. Research continues through death studies and the creation of technological hybrids capable of penetrating the unimaginable.
The eeriness of the virtual stems from its ability to copy and distort reality in such a way that the boundaries between the real and the artificial are blurred. These aspects are explored in projects representing hyperrealistic simulations and affective computing (research and development of computing systems capable of recognizing, processing and reproducing human emotions). Traveling through virtual landscapes and interacting with computer avatars, we encounter environments and objects that seem both familiar and frighteningly alien.
The Dark Reflections Room immerses the viewer in often overlooked aspects of the human experience. The projects challenge ethical and cultural norms, rethink the boundaries of the human body and reflect on identity and otherness. "Dark Reflections" invites viewers to confront hidden fears, repressed memories and the dark sides of social constructs, creating a space for critical interaction with the creepy and hidden aspects of our reality.
Hall 2: Synthetic Reality
The Synthetic Reality Hall represents the transformative power of technology. The presented installations continue to explore the themes of trauma, memory and organic matter, but their focus is changing to recycling and creating new synthetic experiences.
This hall also houses the Boundless Horizon digital exhibition, which is assembled from the works of first-year students based on the results of the first semester of study. In the exhibition space, you can see it in an entry, next to which there is a QR code to go to the digital exhibition website.
The works in the hall address the ideas of digital immortality and the preservation of memories in the digital age. Through interactive media installations and projects based on artificial intelligence, the works offer to reflect on the impact of our digital choices on personal and collective memory, as well as to reflect on the possibilities of synthesizing digital and physical, organic and inorganic, traumatic and nutritious.
Ippolit Markelov Workshop (Bioart, biodesign and living materials): Nastya Verzhbitskaya, Vladislava Julia, Anna Zeladina, Irina Kalapyshina, Valeria Makarova, Diana Mansur, Olga Mitskevich, Vlada Oleinik, Grigory Tikhomirov
Dmitry Morozov Workshop (Robotics and Interactive Art): Taliana Vyaltseva, Valeria Dobulevich, Irina Korotkaya, Elizaveta Leontieva, Alina Charayeva, Anastasia Shulyak
Helena Nikonole Workshop (Digital Worlds): Gerulaityte Gabriele, Ivan Belousov, Nail Gainulov, Alena Zinurova, Maria Kuvshinova, Aytan Mammadova, Lena Poturemets, Ludmila Fridman, Maxim Chernyshev
Alexey Feskov, technical director
Daria Grigorash, Alexander Shchos, Sergei Polovnev, Artem Mamontov, Roman Aristov, Mikhail Shalepo, Ruslan Bobko
Mila Lutsyk, exhibition design
Arina Belyanina, coordinator
Ekaterina Yudaeva, pr and smm
Olga Yudaeva, text proofreading
Helena Nikonole,
Ippolit Markelov,
Dmitry Morozov (::vtol::)
Elizaveta Menis, director
Olga Vad, head of master's studies
Tatyana Bukareva, master's program manager
Lina Kipryushina, curator of master's and postgraduate studies
Asya Kaplan, public program curator
Art & Science Center Team:
Maria Moshchenskaya, Veronika Prizova, Alexandra Burnusuz
