Exhibition Alluviums and Thermoclines

Exhibition Alluviums and Thermoclines

December 07 2023

Sașa-Liviu Stoianovici

The exhibition Alluvium and Thermoclines presents different artistic attitudes that refer to Water, as a primordial element. By means of the video art, through recordings and sound processing, and supported by visual installations, the artists express their philosophical ideas, militant or poetic attitudes towards environmental change, war, deforestation, environmental activism, and also share their own stories and memories. A reflection on the beauty of Nature and at the same time an invitation to consider the some challenging ecological and social issues, the exhibition outlines a map of today's artistic understanding of Water, in its many forms, with its myriad currents and layers.

Opening event: Thursday, December 7, 4 pm
Closing event: Friday, December 22, 4-6 pm

Sașa-Liviu Stoianovici, curator:

Alluvium is an accumulation of sediment, the result of the agglomeration of small particles collected by the world's waters. Truly parts of Nature, the chunks of clay, gravel, sand and stones end up being rolled away by the continuous flow of the Earth's waters. Drifted and displaced, like many life forms, like humans or animals fleeing from an impending flood, hurricane or war.  

Thermoclines are layers of different temperatures within an accumulation of water or air. In the underwater world, they separate the turbulent surface waters from the calm, cold waters that remain silent in their serene depths. 

Water contains life and at the same time is a keeper of memory - accumulations of facts or perhaps just fleeting, volatile images. At once concrete and metaphorical, its fluidity helps stories to be told and battles to be fought. It keeps memories alive, though sometimes the past can remain hidden in the depths; sometimes water erases traces, with its sudden bursts of energy. It deposits, like silt, the facts that need to be told, the outlines of wounds that need to be healed. It keeps them on the banks, hidden, waiting to show them to the world. Water contains, water flows, water freezes. It gives a voice to those in need, acts as a medium that eases the memory of the past, finally washes everything away with its huge and relentless force. Above good and evil, water simply is.

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This activity is organized within the project "Water Museum - connection to Timisoara's cultural network", part of the national cultural programme "Timisoara - European Capital of Culture in 2023", financed by the Grow Timisoara 2023 programme, implemented by the Timisoara City Project Centre, with funds allocated from the state budget through the Ministry of Culture budget.