András Cséfalvay
Ghosts (Modes for Extinction Survival 2)
Exhibition opening: 11. 3. 2021 / 18.00 hod. Exhibition's duration: 11. 3. - 31. 5. 2021
As the world is entering another possible phase of mass extinction, we are still sensitive to a great degree to anything that would throw off our perceived balance. Growth and fight for the opportunity to grow after all are old uncontested biologic concepts. Yet, it suffices to remember that the origin of both capitalism and of “the species” share a common milieu. The idea of an evolutionary race comes from the same era as the idea of making way for individual prosperity. The ideas share a bit of DNA. Recent evolutionary theories confirm the suspicion, the species are not in a constant competition, evolution is a lot less gradual. Evolutionary changes are more sudden bursts of adaptations to an imbalance, to regain balance. But with projecting constant growth (and this can mean materially, mentally or otherwise) there in fact is no balance to be achieved.
The current interactive narrative environment we are allowed to walk on the palaeontological site Sandberg (Bratislava), a limestone fragment of the former Paratethys ocean floor, in the Vienna basin. We walk in nature, and there is a utopist and apocalyptic atmosphere present. No human structure, no human sound can be heard. Only the wind and birds. It is not clear whether we are in the past or in a not-so-distant future. And at certain places of the map, the fossils come alive, and as ghost of the past recall their experience of innovation, survival, greed, loss of balance, anger, grief, and extinction. The ghost talk.
András Cséfalvay is a visual artist who creates stories, installations, videos using digital technologies. He deals with the relationship between culture and technology, the political and ethical aspects of “listening” with a non-dominant voice, interpretations of the world. He is interested in non-anthropocentric narratives in philosophy and the natural sciences. His recent projects have been on the relationship between astronomers and indigenous peoples in the construction of a telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the flight of dinosaurs and how to survive avoidance, the categorization of Pluto, and the way of scientific categorization. He is a co-founder of the digital arts platform at the Academy of Fine Arts.
The project of this gallery is supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council.
Slovak Arts Council is the main partner of the project.
From now on you can download András Cséfalvay’s newest artwork >>> here <<<.
You’ll find two folders in Ghosts of Sandberg, and then all you have to do is choose the Mac or Windows version for your computer. For Win64 Build for Windows, download the entire folder. In the case of MACOS X Build, first click on the entire folder and then download the OS X app. If you have the latest version of the operating system on your Mac called Big Sur, after installing the OS X app and unpacking the file, please right-click on the file and press Open. In this case, you will avoid development restrictions and you will be able to open the application.
