Neotenous dark dwellers (Lygophilia)

————– Slovensko besedilo je spodaj ————–

Friday August 31st
4 pm Panel discussion
7 pm Exhibition opening
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Panel discussion

Speakers: Carlos Pascual (writer), Gregor Aljančič and Magdalena Năpăruș-Aljančič (Tular Cave Laboratory – Jamski laboratorij Tular), Robertina Sebjanic (artist), Annick Bureaud (curator and art critic, director Leonardo/Olats).

The panel discussion will present some of the topics and issues shared by those two remarkable creatures, living two continents apart: the Mexican Axolotl and the Slovene Proteus. Their ecology (both are endangered species in their natural environment), their biological singularity (both are neotenous dwellers of the dark) and their cultural appropriation (both are cultural phenomena) will be addressed.

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Exhibition

Robertina Šebjanič: Neotenous dark dwellers (Lygophilia)
curated by Annick Bureaud

Lygophilia weaves together mythologies and sciences, history and future, fears and desires, continents, cultures, humans and non-humans. Lygophilia folds and unfolds the stories carried by those fascinating creatures that are the Mexican Axolotl and the Slovene Proteus.From immortality to regenerative medicine — both animals are, as adults, in a state of “eternal youth” (neoteny) showing extraordinary longevity and regenerative abilities that put them at the center of ancient myths as well as current cutting-edge scientific researches.
Ironically, Axolotls and Proteus are endangered species in their natural environment. Both have found habitats in very specific and located places, in the swamps of the lakes around the City of Mexico for one and in Europe in Dinaric karst caves for the other, showing an example of parallel evolution, endemicity and adaptation to narrow and extreme niches.
Hiding from the sun and daylight both are in love with darkness, lygophilia (from the Greek lúgē and philéō)With cabinets that evoke the old natural history museums displays as well as the scientific labs glove boxes or the maternity incubators, through objects, texts, videos and paraphernalia, playing with a crossed mirrored approach where each element, each story, each animal is echoing, reflecting but also diffracting and counteracting the other, Šebjanič invites us to a journey into our cultural gaze and its evolution. Lygophilia offers the visitors to gain a more profound view of interspecies cohabitation in the contemporary world for a common future.The exhibition is part of the Mladi levi festival
http://www.bunker.si/eng/21st-international-festival-mladi-levi

*Lygophilia is a series of research-based artworks initiated in 2017 by Robertina Šebjanič in Mexico and pursued in Slovenia to explore the love (Gr.: philéō) of darkness (Gr.: lúgē) and the unknown dwellers in places inhospitable for humans.

**Production: Projekt Atol (Uroš Veber), Slovenia, 2018 & Arte+Ciencia (UNAM), Mexico; Sektor, Slovenia 2017 / 2018
Production support: Ministry of Culture of Slovenia and the Municipality of Ljubljana

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petek, 31. avgusta:
16.00: javni pogovor
19.00: otvoritev razstave

Javni pogovor
Govorci: Gregor Aljančič in Magdalena Năpăruș-Aljančič (Jamski laboratorij Tular), Carlos Pascual (pisatelj), Robertina Šebjanič (umetnica), Annick Bureaud (kuratorka, direktorica Leonardo/Olats in moderatorka dogodka).

V javnem pogovoru in skozi predstavitve bodo predstavljene nekatere tematike in vprašanja, ki jih delita dve izjemni bitji, ki živita na dveh kontinentih: mehiški axolotl in slovenski proteus. Osredotočili se bomo na vprašanja ekologije (obe živali sta v naravnem okolju ogroženi vrsti), njuno biološko singularnost (obe sta neotenična prebivalca teme) in njihove kulturne pomene (obe nosita močan simbolni naboj).

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Razstava
Neotenični prebivalci teme (Ligofilija), Robertina Šebjanič, 2018
Kuratorica: Annick Bureaud

Lygophilia prepleta in skupaj tke mitološke svetove in znanost, preteklost in prihodnost, strahove in želje, kontinente, kulture, ljudi in ne-ljudi. Ligofilija razpira zgodbe dveh čudovitih in nenavadnih bitij, mehiškega axolotla in slovenskega proteusa.

Od nesmrtnosti do regenerativne medicine – obe živali sta, tudi v odraslosti v stanju “večne mladosti” (neotenije), za obe sta značilni nenavadna dolgoživost in regenerativne sposobnosti, ki jih postavljata v središče starodavnih mitov, pa tudi sodobnega visokotehnološkega znanstvenega raziskovanja.

Ironično je, da so Axolotli in Proteusi v lastnih naravnih okoljih ogroženi. Habitat obojih je izrazito specifičen in zamejen. Živita bodisi v močvirjih jezer okoli Mexico City ali pa v Evropi v Dinarskih kraških jamah in sta primera vzporedne evolucije, endemitskosti in adaptacije na ozke, celo ekstremne niše.
Obe se skrivata pred soncem in dnevno svetlobo, zaznamuje ju ligofilija (iz grščine lúgē in philéō), sta ljubezen do teme.

Z vitrinami oz. kabineti, ki v spomin budijo stare razstave naravoslovnih muzejev, pa tudi rokavične komore ali otroške inkubatorje, s pomočjo objektov, besedil, videov in drobnih objektov, z igrivim navzkrižnim zrcaljenjem, v katerem odmevajo, se zoperstavljajo in se lomijo podobe elementov, zgodb in živali, Ligofilija ponuja obiskovalcu poglobljen pogled na medvrstno sobivanje v sodobnem svetu in za skupno prihodnost.

Razstava je del programa festivala Mladi levi (http://www.bunker.si/eng/21st-international-festival-mladi-levi)

*Ligofilija je serija raziskovalnih umetniških del, ki nastajajo na pobudo Robertine Šebjanič v želji, da bi raziskala ljubezen (gr.: philéō) do temè (gr.: lúgē) in do neznanih prebivalcev za ljudi negostoljubnih krajev.

**produkcija: Zavod Projekt Atol (Uroš Veber), Slovenija, 2018 in Arte+Ciencia (UNAM), Mehika; Sektor, Slovenija 2017 / 2018
produkcijska podpora: Ministrstvo za kulturo R. Slovenije in Mestna občina Ljubljana