The sculptural exhibition is the result of collaboration between researchers from the Marine Research Center of the University of Vigo and international artists. It can be visited until September 30th
Rastros del Silencio, Fauna, Home á deriva, Interior, and Último resquicio are the five works that make up the Mar Emerxente exhibition, which can be visited from this Wednesday at the entrance of the institutional building of the Port Authority of Vigo. Driven by the Campus do Mar, under its Scientists Meet Artists initiative, and led by the Marine Research Centre of the University of Vigo, the exhibition showcases five sculptures, the result of collaborative work between as many CIM-UVigo researchers and renowned visual artists.
After its inauguration almost a year ago in the Redeiras building of the UVigo, the initiative, which had the collaboration and co-financing of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology – Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, FECYT, arrived today at the institutional building of the Port Authority, where this afternoon it was inaugurated by the rector of the UVigo, Manuel Reigosa, and the president of the Port Authority, Carlos Botana, in an event also attended by the director of the CIM, Daniel Rey, and the artists Liliya Pobornikova and Nando Álvarez. For the rector, marine research has always been in the spotlight and “we are one of the best universities in the world in this area and we want to continue expanding this knowledge among companies and citizens. This is an initiative that goes further and that wants people to get closer to the sea from the very beginning,” said Reigosa.
For his part, the director of the Port Authority highlighted the value and novelty of uniting art and science, as well as the importance of transferring scientific knowledge to children. “We have to get children to look at science, engineering and the sea as something very interesting for their career”, said Botana, for whom the sea “is the solution to many of the world’s problems”. Meanwhile, Daniel Rey, director of the CIM, recalled that “the Scientists meet Artists project tries to obtain the generosity and abilities that artists have to transmit emotions so that we can transmit to the public issues that have to do with ocean literacy and how it influences us”. Rey thanked the Port Authority for its collaboration with the UVigo for many years and now more reinforced, if possible, with a president who the director of the CIM recalled is a graduate of the Vigo academic institution.
Science and art merged in five works
This innovative project in which research and creativity go hand in hand began with a meeting between the artists and the research staff to learn about their work, and then began the creative process in their workshops, the result of which was the emergence of five sculptural works that show the symbiosis between the scientific and artistic worlds.
Interior, born from the fascination with organic forms and how they resonate with emotions, is an invitation to reflection, to the search for the interior and to contact with nature. The collaboration between the specialist in cryobiology and echinoderm biology Estefanía Paredes and the sculptor Lyliya Pobornikova gave life to this work. From the tandem between Fran Ramil, specialist in marine benthic invertebrates, and the artist Nando Álvarez came Fauna, a sculpture of pink and gray Portuguese marble inspired by underwater fauna with a fluid design that evokes corals, anemones and mollusks and pointed and curvilinear shapes that reflect the complexity of deep ecosystems. The contrast between the pink marble and the gray veins adds dynamism, while the polished surface enhances the textures of the marble.
Meanwhile, Último resquicio, a series of sculptures that explores the intersection between fishing and climate change, highlighting the alarming decrease in aquatic resources, emerged from the joint work of the head of the Future Oceans Lab group Elena Ojea and the artist Itahisa Pérez. These are works that convey the devastating impact of human intervention and highlight the urgency and fragility of the environmental situation, inviting reflection on the responsibility of human beings in preserving the ecosystem.
The exhibition is complemented by Home á deriva, a regular orthohedral structure on which a scene in apparent balance unfolds, where some elements have cracked, causing a wave-like movement at the top over which a cube and a human figure float. The sculpture, born from the collaboration between Moncho Gesteira, professor of Applied Physics and head of the EPhysLab group, and artist Amancio González, captures the moment of that rupture just before collapse: balance is about to disappear, and the human is in a state of uncertainty. Finally, from the collaboration between researcher Paula Diz, specialized in marine microfossils, and sculptor Noemí Palacios emerged Rastros del Silencio, three alabaster pieces that address the stages of ocean deterioration due to acidification and act as a visual statement on the importance of preserving the marine environment.
The CIM has the CIGUS recognition of the Xunta de Galicia, which accredits the quality and impact of its research, and its activity is co-financed by the European Union through the FEDER 21-27 Program.
Source: DUVI
