Marginal

Installation, 3 modules, 9 videos, each 3 minutes and 17 seconds long

STWST upstairs
Part of exhibition: open throughout

How much can you really say in 3 minutes and 17 seconds? Especially when tackling big ideas like transdisciplinary collaboration or interdisciplinary approaches? 3’17” is a satirical response to the overuse of such buzzwords in the contemporary artistic landscape. In an art world where terms like these are constantly thrown around, what happens when we ask what they actually mean? Can artists, researchers, and theorists truly collaborate across disciplines, or are these just words that sound impressive on paper?

Through a mix of sound art, video art, and podcasting, covering themes like Technological (in)determinism, Ecological relationships in more-than-human worlds, and Societal artivism, 3’17” sets out to explore these questions — while poking fun at the very discourse it critiques. The project engages 9 visual artists, 9 researchers, and 3 sound artists, placing them in a weird experiment where they collaborate “in the blind.” None of the participants knew what the others were working on, turning the very notion of collaboration on its head.

Full artist and contributor line-up:
Video artists: Charlotte Eifler, Claudia Brăileanu, Pablo Mendez, Nona Inescu, Sabina Suru, Cristina Bodnărescu, Vera Hector, Mara Oglakci, Alex Halka
Sound artists: Simina Oprescu, Vlaicu Golcea, [ d s l x ]
Researchers: Tom Chatfield, Lev Manovich, Claudia Schnugg, Yvonne Volkart, Annick Bureaud, Alexandra Sofonea, Laura Welzenbach, Špela Petrič, Sonja Schachinger
More-than-podcast moderator: Sorin Badea
Artistic director: Andrei Tudose
Graphic design: Vitaly Yankovyi

Marginal is a cultural non-profit organization from Romania, dedicated to supporting, promoting, and extending bridges between artists and various agents from other fields, with a particular focus on the humanities and the socio-cultural implications of sciences and technologies. Underlying this ideology, Marginal's core purpose is to weave a collaborative network, enabling change by creating spaces where individuals are free to evolve, as community forms the foundation of all its endeavors.