Mud Party @ Eforie Colorat, experimental music and eco-art murals
The artists invited to Eforie Sud transform the multiple ways of expression – be it performance or mural art, experimental music, documentary film or eco-art – into an activist message. As part of Eforie Colorat project, “aggressiON/OFF: public, private, natural” is a contemplation on the urgent matters of our times, such as the rapid takeover of technology, consumerism, or the most pressing contemporary environmental issues.
“aggressiON/OFF: public, private, natural” opens the space up for discussions, encouraging the public to escape from the day-to-day, big-city overcrowding, by bringing a sense of calmness in this age of speed, as well as by getting the focus back on human nature in the decade of technological expansion. New ideals of a world that is constantly changing require us to think more critically. At the moment, we are living in a virtual universe that is guided by consumerist behaviors, where the superficial is idolized and the profit makes the rules. We inhabit high-tech metropolises, while the concept of community is long gone, and the main connection to the mere idea of nature resides in the vegetable aisle at the nearest hypermarket. We are frightened by the consequences of the global temperatures that keep rising, the potential future climate disasters, and it is too often that we talk about floods, draughts, storms, fires or hunger. The war in Ukraine brings up new challenges – from aggression towards the people, the state and the environment, to energetic, ecological and humanitarian crises. In this uncertain times, “aggressiON/OFF: public, private, natural” recontextualizes the relationship between man and nature and offers a moment to reflect on the imminent impact that these catastrophic events have on the world. In spite of all of this, life never fails to reclaim its rights, getting stronger and more colorful each time.
European artists, well known for their street art or activist projects, will transform the space of the Eforie Sud Cinemascop Summer Garden, drawing their inspiration from the contrasting Romanian seaside’s history. New works of art will add up the series of workshops, art interventions and murals that were previously done, during the last editions of the festival, by artists such as Barbora Idesová (Czech Republic), Dan and Lia Perjovschi, Andreea Toma – ATOMA, Robert Obert and Lucian Hrisav.
This year’s “aggressiON/OFF: public, private, natural” project gathers together artists, local administration’s representatives, activists and journalists specializing in environmental issues. Important figures such as Lia and Dan Perjovschi, who were this year present at prestigious art events, such as documenta 15 and Art Basel, Irina Botea, art teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago and well known for her video projects, Diana Miron and Laurențiu Coțac, sound artists known world-wide, Emil Cristian Ghiță, artist known for his ecological artistic interventions, manager of Czech Center Bucharest, David Tăicuțu, Mud Graffiti artist, or activists of the cultural scene, such as Cristian Neagoe, will meet with the public during eco-performance sessions, experimental music concerts or debates that question the symbolic potential that lies somewhere between man, nature and technology. The project’s guests will explore the common ground between art and the environment, the relationship between failed projects and beneficial ecosystems, as well as their own visions that emerged from the process of abandoning their socio-cultural identities, in order to become less of an individual, and be more in contact with nature.
For the art installation and murals section, there are several guests this year: Mircea Modreanu, E T A J artist – run space project coordinator, Lucian Sandu Milea, co-founder of Carol 53 project, Ana Cristina Toma, known for her research on the intersectionality between decorative experiments (fashion, illustration, mural art interventions, both in the public and private space), French artist Antoine Martinet – alias MioSHe – known for his monumental works that question the relationship between man, urban space and nature. Adding their own vision to an international, burning issue, the four artists aim to create a visual summoning of an ideal starting point, when the destruction becomes an opportunity for reconstruction.
Unsustainable tourism, alongside the excessive water pollution, are two starting points of the debates that will be held at Eforie Sud, coming under the broader context of globalization, consumerism and the current ecological, pandemic and geopolitical crises. Lately, the news seems to prove all the warnings. In spite of all the studies that call out on the huge percent of plastic pollution (for instance, 83% of the waste found in the Black Sea comes from plastic, which is double than that found in the Mediterranean Sea), the Romanian seaside is still defined by small booths and tiny shops that sell tens of thousands of plastic bottles, bags and packaging each year. “Plastic swim rings, unicorns, flamingos, dragons, ducks, sharks, fish, umbrellas – a whole artifact of ammunition that makes up a new, hybrid and ephemeral world, that lies under the impression of excitement and euphoria.”
Access to “aggressiON/OFF: public, private, natural” profect’s event is free of charge.
More information on the events can be found on eforiecolorat.ro as well as on official accounts of Eforie Colorat, “aggressiON/OFF: public, private, natural” section.
Activities that will take place a this year’s edition of “aggressiON/OFF: public, private, natural”:
Booth tourists and locals are invited to an eco – performance, aiming to clean the Techirghiol Lake’s beach area. (August)
Artist: Emil Cristian Ghiță
Six creative workshops, for both children and adults will be held during this Summer at the Eforie Sud Cinemascop Summer Garden. One of these, #suediasustenabilă, an activity supported by The Embassy of Sweden at Bucharest, aims to teach children more about recycling, through innovative games, between 19th-21st of August. David Tăicuțu will meet the public, between 12th-14th of August, at Mud Graffiti workshop – an example of the use of natural resources as raw material for making art. Participants will use the infamous Techirghiol mud to create works of art that will later be exhibited at the Summer Garden. Upcycling and Creative Recycling are two more workshops which, at the end of August, will raise the challenge of creating decorative objects out of recycled waste – a rather healthy and sustainable alternative in the age of fast fashion consumerism.
Artist talk on topics such as ecology and social art, beginning with the latest forms of aggression towards man and the environment, emphasizing the mediating role that art has to play in this context. The talks will be held by Dan and Lia Perjovschi and chaired by the project’s curator Raluca Oancea. Images and recordings of their exhibitions at Bucharest, Sibiu, Kassel (Germany) will be shown, as the public will be encouraged to ask questions. (13th-18th of August)
Fashion show displaying objects, outfits and accessories made from plastic or recycled waste, all of which are conceived by artists. Before the presentation, there will be a talk regarding the new fast fashion trends and the distributive outcome on the environment. (guest: Cristian Neagoe).
Experimental music session based on recordings of natural sounds, specific to the coastal area, Lake Techirighiol’s surroundings, and the forest near the sea. The concert will be followed by a debate on the role of art, as a means of questioning the current ecological and geopolitical reality. The research was conducted by artists Diana Miron and Laurențiu Coțac and will take place between 17th-20th of August.
Live performance at Lake Techirghiol, 18th-19th of August, using the mud – a natural resource well known for its extraordinary properties – as an artistic tool. People are invited to Mud Party – an opportunity to use the mud in a creative way, be it face-painting or simply modeling. Irina Botea uses the mud as a visual element in an interactive performative session, where she combines reenactment strategies, mock auditions and elements of direct cinema and cinéma vérité. It is a multi-layered artistic investigation that starts with the local myths or the danger of aggressive nature exploitation and goes deeper into more complex themes, such as the regional socio-political dynamic and the opportunities for development. Diving into themes such as the decentralization of speech and creative differentiation that, most probably, exist outside of a hegemonic system, governed by values and criticism. Even though she makes use of the reenactment technique, as well as role playing, Irina Botea does not aim to create fiction that is supposed to be accepted as reality. Instead, she is searching for the truthfulness of the show and the authenticity of the participants. Moreover, the artist will document her entire experience at Eforie Sud through a short film that will be screened at Cinemascop Garden.
Alexandra Dumitrescu, artist and co-founder of Eforie Colorat Festival, will also make a short film, through which she documents the entire unfolding of the project. It will premiere in November.
Eforie Colorat. Over 200 cultural events are going to take place this Summer, between July 4th – September 4th, at the Eforie Sud Summer Garden creative hub – all thanks to Eforie Colorat eco-art Festival. Developed in partnership with European cultural institutes, diplomatic missions and international film festivals, Eforie Colorat is an alternative meeting spot right by the Black Sea, as well as the first place on the Romanian seaside that is dedicated to contemporary art. The festival, launched in 2021 as a complex cultural program, is dedicated to tourists and locals as well as to the artistic community and national ecology groups. The latter are invited, each year, to a series of artistic residencies in Eforie Sud. Eforie Colorat is a program organized by Forumul Artelor Vizuale, in partnership with Czech Center Bucharest and Eforie City Hall and aims to rejuvenate the Romanian seaside’s cultural spaces through contemporary art. What was once the center of Buchurest’s elite and one of the most visited resorts in Europe, Eforie Sud essentially became an abandoned area in the current consumerist frenzy. The Summer Garden, the biggest regional theater, with the largest screen on the entire seaside, has slowly degraded over the last decades until it almost became a ruin. Restored through the organizers’ efforts, the garden is now reclaiming its initial function as a significant cultural space and meeting place for the community. Eforie Colorat gathers together the artistic community, local and central administration representatives and activist groups, in a common effort to formulate actual rehabilitation solutions, in order to offer an alternative in the cultural offer in Eforie Sud, as well as a chance for development.
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