Plastic Art Performance Collective invites you to embark on a subjective exploration of our relationship with our own waste through a series of photo-performative experiments within the exhibition THERE IS NO AWAY.
What does the waste we produce convey about us? What does it reveal about our emotional deficiencies and the toxicity of consumption patterns?
Within the event THERE IS NO AWAY, the collective brings together artists who propose symbolically-pragmatic fusions of the relationship with collective waste and one’s own garbage.
Performative Persona – Balkan Obsolescence
Under the concept of obsolescence that affects our connection to ancestry, Eastern Europe becomes the marginal space of Europe, where waste is often disposed of, where landfills swallow roots and, through the desire to accumulate, caricature the spirit. By creating an eco-performative persona, the artist aims to bring to the forefront the emotional dimension of the connection between humans, rituals, nature, and waste.
Starting from inquiries about the meaning of waste, Alexandra Cojocaru explores how objects are imbued with meaning and the moment when, through planned obsolescence, they are replaced. The artist raises the issue of when luxury becomes trash. We sacrifice resources to manufacture objects elevated to the status of temporary luxury, which rapidly lose their utility and inevitably become trash. Our relationship with objects reflects our relationship with ourselves and the significant relationships in our lives. We deplete resources. We consume and discard.
“Waste does nothing but keep
A C C U M U L A T I N G.
The hyperbolic dimension of the waste generated by humanity paralyzes me.
Hyperinertia.
Hyperabject evades absorption into the environment or any attempt at circularity.
The impossibility of decomposition.
Plastic is at the bottom of the sea, on mountain slopes, on islands in the middle of oceans, and in the cells in my blood.
– alive
– dead
– immortal
When did I decide that I want to host such intimacy?” (from the statement of the photo-video performance installation proposed by the artist GCV)
Sculpture: Larisa Tofan
Live experimental sound design: Ștefan Blănică
Photo-video performative installation: GCV
Live action: Florina Baia
Eco-performative poetic manifestos written by: Ioana Gabriela Cherciu (Gabi)
Event graphic design: Ioana Buraga
Concept, Costume & Photography: Alexandra Cojocaru
Artistic Direction / Concept & Persona Performative: Alina Tofan
The concept of planned obsolescence, which underpins the thematic exhibition, emerged at the beginning of the 20th century with modern household appliances. The desire to accelerate the wear and tear, consumption, and renewal of objects, equipment, and emotions for the purpose of selling, trading, or discarding forms the basis of obsolescence.
Alina Tofan, an eco-performer and the artistic director of the project states:
“We bring to the forefront the emotional dimension of the connection between humans, rituals, nature, and waste. We have gathered artists who have their own vision of this and how luxury becomes obsolescent, the textures of waste, and how landfills modify the space of existence.”
Plastic Art Performance Collective connects consciousness, the body, and ecology through the arts. It is a group of interdisciplinary young artists formed in 2020 under the cultural association Macaia, drawing attention to collective waste and themes such as the environmental crisis, plastic pollution, industrial pollution, climate change, and illegal deforestation, explored through various artistic mediums.
The project is co-funded by The Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN).
The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the project’s content or how the project’s results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.
