R-lab Zagreb: Collapse on Hold, at the Pogon.

Wednesday December 25th 2019 by Peter Thomas Lang

photo Martejh Jurcevic

R-lab Zagreb: Collapse on hold

FLOATING LEXICON OF MARVELS AND CATASTROPHES is a new iteration of workshop started within the course R-Lab at Royal Institute of Art, Sweden. It is focused on exploring the kind of surprises we can expect if and when the unpredictable happens. Not a guide to disaster survival, but a manual for creativity and poetry in the face of uncertain odds.

~ What is Marvels and Catastrophes?

Disasters expose human helplessness in confronting the full force of nature, but these tragic events can also bring out the best in human compassion and collective action. Marvels and Catastrophes moves through historic and contemporary landscapes, reflects on societies past and present and engages with the people who are or will be most affected by the forces of nature, and climatic reversals.

~ How does the workshop work?

DAY ONE 12/12 1-4 pm

Fieldwork exploration around the river Sava will guide us in our research of the connection between natural forces in the waterfronts, uncovering human relations to river flows, occurring floods and possible waterways. We will be collecting objects, materials, evidence that will create a base for our collaborative floating lexicon.

DAY TWO – 13/12 4-8pm

Participants are kindly asked to bring with them objects, things or ideas that they want to take with them into the ever changing present! The R-Lab group will sort out their stuff and categorize, document and then will arrange it with all the other creations. We imagine you might already have something perfect in your living room or closet. An amulet to keep away evil spirits, a horse-shoe to bring good luck, a flashlight that works on human power, a chunk of clay you want to mould, or maybe an idea you have that you would want to make with the help of the R-Lab team.

DAY THREE 14/12 11am-7 pm

Collective editing of the DIY lexicon in print and physical space of Pogon based on the material collected in the first two days. Evening is open for the public to see the results of the workshop (7-9 pm).

~ How does the workshop work?

DAY ONE – 12/12 4-8pm

you are kindly asked to bring with you– objects, things or ideas that you want to take with you into the ever changing present! The R-Lab group will sort out your stuff and categorize, document and then will arrange it with all the other creations. We imagine you might already have something perfect in your living room or closet. An amulet to keep away evil spirits, a horse-shoe to bring good luck, a flashlight that works on human power, a chunk of clay you want to mould, or maybe an idea you have that you would want to make with the help of the R-Lab team.

DAY TWO 13/12 1-4 pm

fieldwork exploration around the river Sava will guide us in further exploration of the connection between natural forces in the waterfronts, uncovering human relations to river flows, occurring floods and possible waterways.

DAY THREE 14/12 11am-7 pm

GALLERY MOČVARA (ZAGREB, CROATIA) IS RUNNING A THEMED YEAR LONG PROGRAM IN 2019 ENTITLED “COLLAPSE ON HOLD” ELABORATING THE IDEA
OF A CATASTROPHE.
This topic is not approached as necessarily dark and futuristic, but is situated in the midst, between present and future. Fiction remains on par with reality, marked by tensions, transformations, and new hierarchies. Surviving in these times demands from the individuals to revise their own attitudes, form new alliances, and overall act critically and reflexively in relation to their past practices. This approach does not force the complete renunciation of all that is known, but rather articulates curiosity in the search for alternatives, reconciliation or salvation.
Destruction of one’s identity, awe for the power of nature, or giving up on social polarization are just some of the tactics that attempt to prevent catastrophe. Alternative scenarios that take into account local specificities initiate a dialogue between local and foreign artists, revealing their mutual inter-connections in times of change and uncertainty. There are no final solutions, but merely attempts to address problems that currently create optimism and a sense of security. This dialogue is situated in the realm of the spiritual, virtual or speculative.
BETWEEN THE 10TH AND 16TH OF DECEMBER 2019 CURATOR LEA VENE TOGETHER WITH R-LAB WILL TAKE OVER THE SPACES OF GALLERY MOČVARA.
In the gallery and the surrounding suburban landscape defined by the river Sava, they will put the collapse “on hold” and rethink new possibilities for the coexistence of humans and architecture with nature, ecology and other species.
http://www.g-mk.hr