In Reviviscence, Miha Godec explores the disappearance of underwater forests of brown algae (Cystoseira s. l.) and the possibilities for their restoration through an artistic practice that combines Gaussian splatting and a spatial installation.
These forests provide food and shelter for numerous marine organisms and are threatened by climate change and other human impacts. The project engages with post-environmental art practices and examines human responsibility for restoring ecosystems endangered by human intervention, as well as the limits of control over living processes. In developing the installation, Godec combines field experience, research into materials and digital methods.
The exhibition comprises two video projections and a spatial installation. The projections feature digital representations of algae in three dimensions, created from photographs using Gaussian splatting. Alongside them are materials and supports used by researchers to reintroduce young algae. Engaging with object-oriented ontology, Godec explores how the existence of these organisms and materials extends beyond our conceptions of them and the roles we assign to them.
The juxtaposition of digital images and tangible objects raises questions about the vulnerability of marine habitats, the processes of their regeneration and the role of art in understanding these changes.
Before the opening,, a roundtable discussion on collaboration between art and science in marine ecosystem restoration will take place at 6 pm. The exhibition will be on view until 10 November.
Free admission.
The project is being developed in collaboration with Shoreline, an organisation based in Trieste, and the Marine Biology Station Piran of the National Institute of Biology. Collaborators include Dr Ana Lokovšek, whose research focuses on the decline and regeneration of algal forests. As part of the LIFE REEForest project, Shoreline builds on its previous experience of restoring Cystoseira forests in the Mediterranean.
Production: Zavod Artevida
Coproduction: Kino Šiška, Liminal Research ETS
Curator: Jasna Jernejšek
Coordination and curatorial advice: Francesco Scarel
Biological consultancy and fieldwork: Dr Ana Lokovšek and Tihomir Makovec (Marine Biology Station Piran, National Institute of Biology); Dr Saul Ciriaco and Tommaso Delorenzi (Shoreline, Trieste)
Technical and development support: Shoreline; Marine Biology Station Piran, National Institute of Biology; Liminal Research ETS
Supported by: City of Ljubljana
Miha Godec (SI) is an intermedia artist whose practice interweaves art, science, and technology. His work focuses on experimental and post-ecological ecologies, aquatic ecosystems, bio-art, sound installations, and speculative technological systems. His research addresses the relationship between humans and ecosystems, critically examining technology as a purported solution to environmental crises within capitalist modes of production and consumption. Through the use of sensors, living organisms, algorithmic processes, and sound synthesis, he develops artistic environments and installations in which natural processes become carriers of data, rhythm, and meaning. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, with presentations at venues including Ars Electronica (AT), Piksel (NO), Gallery Cukrarna, Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana, Gallery Kresija, and Xcenter.
