TERRA IGNOTA

Terra Ignota raziskuje našo izkušnjo šestega velikega izumrtja. To je aktualni proces izgube planetarne biodiverzitete – izumiranja znanih živalskih in rastlinskih vrst, ki je rezultat človekovega izkoriščanja naravnih virov, onesnaževanja in krčenja divjine.

Življenje se je na Zemlji razvilo pred približno 3,5 miljarde let in v tem času povsem preoblikovalo površje planeta. Del procesa prilagajanja življenja na nova okolja so tudi velika izumrtja. To so krajša obdobja, v katerih zaradi različnih vzrokov izgine do 90 % vseh živečih vrst. Najbolj znano je kredno izumrtje dinozavrov, ki je bilo posledica trka meteorita, ali pa prvo veliko izumrtje v času ordovicija, ko so rastline iz ozračja odvzele toliko ogljikovega dioksida, da so povzročile globalno poledenitev. Izumrtja so nujna za evolucijo planeta, saj se le tako vzpostavijo ekološke niše za nove oblike življenja.

Znanstveniki ocenjujejo, da na planetu trenutno živi ena milijarda različnih vrst rastlin in živali. Že od začetka 20. stoletja vsak dan izumre 150 vrst. To pomeni, da se biotska raznovrstnost zmanjšuje tisočkrat hitreje kot v preteklih petih izumrtjih, ta proces pa je v celoti rezultat neposrednega delovanja človeka.

Umetnika sta si zadala izziv, da ostanke preteklih petih izumrtij in znake šestega poiščeta in dokumentirata. Iz nastalih posnetkov sta oblikovala špekulativno podobo, kako naj bi vilo videti Šesto veliko izumrtje, v katerem bo izginilo tudi človeštvo. Umetniški video dopolnjuje šest vitrin, po ena za vsako od izumrtij, ki so gesta zgodovinjenja izkušnje Šestega izumrtja.

Z delom kot celoto umetnika sporočata, da je izumiranje nekaj prvobitnega, kar šele začenjamo dojemati, hkrati pa je tudi svojevrstna estetsko-poetična izkušnja zatona zlatega obdobja Človeške civilizacije.

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TERRA IGNOTA

Terra Ignota explores our experience of the sixth great extinction. This is the ongoing process of biodiversity loss on our planet - the extinction of known species of animals and plants as a result of human exploitation of natural resources, pollution and deforestation of wilderness.

Life evolved on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago, during which time it completely changed the surface of the planet. Major extinction events are part of the process by which life adapts to new environments. These are short periods of time during which up to 90% of all living species disappear for various reasons. The best known is the extinction of the dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period, caused by a meteorite impact, or the first mass extinction in the Ordovician period, when plants removed so much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that they caused global glaciation. Extinctions are necessary for the evolution of the planet because they are the only way to create ecological niches for new life forms.

Scientists estimate that there are currently one billion different species of plants and animals on our planet. Since the beginning of the 20th century, 150 species have become extinct every day. This means that biodiversity is decreasing thousands of times faster than the last five extinction events, and this process is entirely the result of direct human activity.

The artists have taken on the challenge of finding and documenting the remains of the last five extinction events and the signs of the sixth. Using the resulting footage, they have drawn a speculative picture of what the Sixth Mass Extinction, in which humanity will also disappear, will look like. The art video is complemented by six vitrines, one for each of the extinction events, representing the gesture of historicising the experience of the Sixth Extinction.

With the work as a whole, the artists convey that extinction is something primordial that we are just beginning to comprehend, but also a unique aesthetic-poetic experience of the decline of the golden age of Human Civilisation.

Razstava je del projekta, ki vključuje dve različni postavitvi. Ena je galerijska in poteka od 8. do 29. 9. 2023 v Galeriji Hiše kulture v Pivki. Druga je virtualna na tej strani in je na ogled od 8. 9. 2023 dalje.

Kuratorici: Lela Angela Mršek Bajda, Mojca Grmek.
Podobe in spremna besedila: Nina Čelhar, Tomaž Hartman, Jože Marinč, Mia Paller, Plateauresidue (Aljaž Celarc in Eva Pavlič Seifert), Nina Slejko Blom.

Urejanje besedil: Mojca Grmek.
Lektoriranje besedil: Lela Angela Mršek Bajda.
Prevodi v angleščino: Arven Šakti Kralj.
Oblikovanje in programiranje virtualne razstave: Jure Šajn.

Vse avtorske pravice pridržane.

Projekt sofinancirajo Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije, Občina Pivka in Občina Kočevje.  

The exhibition is part of a project that includes two different set-ups. One is a gallery set-up and takes place from 8 to 29 September 2023 at Hiša kulture gallery in Pivka. The second is a virtual set-up on this website and can be viewed from 8 September 2023 onwards.

Curators: Lela Angela Mršek Bajda, Mojca Grmek.
Images and accompanying texts: Nina Čelhar, Tomaž Hartman, Jože Marinč, Mia Paller, Plateauresidue (Aljaž Celarc and Eva Pavlič Seifert), Nina Slejko Blom.

Text editing: Mojca Grmek.
Proofreading of texts: Lela Angela Mršek Bajda.
Slovene-to-English translation: Arven Šakti Kralj
Design and programming of the virtual exhibition: Jure Šajn.

All copyrights reserved.

The project is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Municipality of Pivka and the Municipality of Kočevje.