YEREVAN BOTANICAL GARDEN
Երևանի բուսաբանական այգի
November 17—December 1, 2024
1 Acharyan Str.
Tue–Sun: 10:00 – 17:30
500–800 AMD
Opening Night—Nov 17, 6 PM
նոյեմբերի 17 — դեկտեմբերի 1, 2024 թ
Աճառյան փող. 1
Երե – Կիր: 10:00 – 17:30
500–800 AMD
Ցուցահանդեսի բացում- նոյեմբերի 17-ին ժամը 18:00-ին
botany.am
CYFEST: Archive of Feelings. A Journey is an expansive audit of relationships between the intimate realm of emotions and memories and technological advancement. How do new technologies shape, mediate, and «archive» emotions? In what ways does technology influence our emotional experience and the way it is expressed and remembered? Can we work with technologies within larger artistic, social, and cultural frameworks? And how can contemporary art and culture contribute to a more diverse future and environments that are neither technocratically mastered nor reductionistic? Through the contribution of internationally renowned artists, curators, and theorists, CYFEST 16 will address these questions from various angles while transforming them into installations, multimedia objects, performances, video, concerts, educational events, and a new, intriguing visitors’ experience.
The main projects of the festival will be held at several prominent cultural venues in Yerevan, including the HayArt Centre and the Yerevan Botanical Garden. Both exhibitions will explore the contradictions and connections between personal memories and technology. They will delve into the space where we recognize our responsibility to human nature and demonstrate how art and culture can help shape our future while preserving our essential emotions and feelings.
Artists
Liudmila Belova, Alexey Grachev, Elena Gubanova & Ivan Govorkov, Kai Lab, Anna Martynenko, Mariam Papoyan, Katarzyna Oliwia Serkowska, Dmitriy Shishov, Hugo Solís García, Adam Vackar
Curators
Anna Frants, Elena Gubanova, Sergei Komarov, Lidiia Griaznova
CYFEST: Զգացմունքների շտեմարան: Ճամփորդություն։ Ճամփորդությունը զգացմունքների և հիշողությունների ինտիմ ոլորտի և տեխնոլոգիական առաջընթացի փոխհարաբերությունների լայնածավալ ուսումնասիրություն է։ Ինչպե՞ս են նոր տեխնոլոգիաները ձևավորում, միջնորդում և «արխիվացնում» զգացմունքները: Ինչպե՞ս է տեխնոլոգիան ազդում մեր զգացմունքային փորձառության վրա, այն ինչպես է արտահայտվում և հիշվում: Կարո՞ղ ենք աշխատել տեխնոլոգիաների հետ ավելի լայն՝ արվեստի, հասարակության և մշակույթի շրջանակներում: Իսկ ինչպե՞ս կարող են ժամանակակից արվեստն ու մշակույթն աջակցել ավելի բազմազան ապագային և միջավայրերին, որոնք ոչ տեխնոկրատորեն կկառավարվեն, և ոչ էլ ընդհանրական կլինեն: Միջազգային ճանաչում ունեցող արվեստագետների, կուրատորների և տեսաբանների մասնակցությամբ CYFEST 16-ը տարբեր տեսանկյուններից կանդրադառնա այս հարցերին՝ դրանք վերածելով ինստալացիաների, բազմամիջնոց օբյեկտների, փերֆորմանսների, վիդեոների, համերգների, կրթական միջոցառումների՝ այցելուների համար վերածվելով նոր, հետաքրքրաշարժ փորձառությունների:
Փառատոնի հիմնական նախագծերը կանցկացվեն Երևանի մի քանի կարևոր մշակութային վայրերում, այդ թվում՝ ՀայԱրտ կենտրոնում և Երևանի բուսաբանական այգում։ Երկու ցուցահանդեսներն էլ կուսումնասիրեն անձնական հիշողությունների և տեխնոլոգիաների միջև հակասություններն ու կապերը։ Նրանք կխորանան այն տարածության մեջ, որտեղ մենք գիտակցում ենք մեր պատասխանատվությունը մարդկային բնության հանդեպ և ցույց կտան, թե ինչպես արվեստն ու մշակույթը կարող են օգնել ձևավորելու մեր ապագան՝ պահպանելով մեր էական հույզերն ու զգացմունքները:
Արվեստագետներ՝
Լյուդմիլա Բելովա, Ալեքսեյ Գրաչև, Ելենա Գուբանովա և Իվան Գովորկով, Kai Lab, Աննա Մարտինենկո, Կատարժինա Օլիվիա Սերկովսկա, Դմիտրի Շիշով, Ուգո Սոլիս Գարսիա, Ադամ Վակար, Մարիամ Պապոյան
Կուրատորներ՝
Աննա Ֆրանց, Ելենա Գուբանովա, Սերգեյ Կոմարով, Լիդիա Գրիազնովա
Liudmila Belova
Encoding Emotions
installation, 2021–2023
The project Encoding Emotions presents a series of ceramic objects depicting neurons. These decorative pieces, designed in the form of invisible nerve cells, do not aim to accurately replicate the structure of the brain or neural networks. Instead, they offer the viewer an opportunity to reflect on the mysteries of human consciousness, inviting them to “look inside” and contemplate how the brain functions, stores memories and emotions, and how the processes of encoding emotions occur from a scientific perspective.
Throughout history, humanity has strived to express its experiences and emotions through poetry, literature, and art — a unique form of “encoding emotions.” One of the most concise and powerful forms of conveying emotions is Japanese haiku. In just three lines, a haiku captures a whole world of complex feelings and deep experiences. Each ceramic neuron in the Encoding Emotions series is paired with its own haiku, which is connected to the visual characteristics of the object — its colors, lines, and patterns. In this way, each neuron-object becomes a unique code, containing a specific emotion, reflected in the combination of visual imagery and poetry.
Alexey Grachev
Weather Station 1, Atmospheric-Acoustic Transducer
sound art object, 2012
vintage aluminum case, stand, speakers, microcontroller, Arduino programming, Max/MSP programming, Mac Mini, environmental sensors
Engineers: Alexey Grachev, Sergei Komarov
Supported by CYLAND MediaArtLab
Most people do not know what the famous scientist Leon Theremin (author of the electro-musical instrument the Theremin) did during his imprisonment at the design bureau TsKB-29 NKVD (Central Design Bureaux). However, during eight years at that bureau, Soviet science made a giant step forward in developing electrical engineering. That was precisely when Theremin developed the concept of transmitting information using tonal-rhythmic musical drawings. After all, being a prisoner, he understood the importance of connecting with the outside world when the world is invisible and imperceptible… Weather Station 1 is a reflection by Alexey Grachev on how a portable atmospheric-acoustic transducer would have looked if he had created it as an engineer. The instrument's purpose is to observe the state of the atmosphere by transforming data from the sensors into a melody.
Elena Gubanova & Ivan Govorkov
Wind of changes
installation, 2018
3D modeling, 3D printing; Arduino, Max/MSP; windsocks, stands, fans, RSS feed analysis, custom-made circuit boards
Engineers: Alexey Grachev, Denis Markov, Dmitriy Shishov, Sergei Komarov
Supported by CYLAND MediaArtLab
This installation visualizes the dynamics of the news agenda and our feelings through the metaphor of the wind. Mounted on aerodrome masts and spaced apart, wind caps face countries most frequently mentioned in real-time news.
The installation is an artistic representation of the fluid nature of global affairs and a philosophical reflection on the essence of reality. Like the wind, the news is invisible. Yet, it shapes our perception of the world, never fully revealing its true nature, as if inviting us to question whether we perceive the world as it truly is or if it is merely an illusion in constant flux.
Kai Lab
Laser Microphone
interactive sound object, 2019
laser, light sensor, custom analog circuitry, aluminium enclosure, water, bubbles
Kai Lab — Designer: Sean Malikides
A Laser Microphone functions like a microscope for sound, amplifying the physical vibrations of tiny objects that are otherwise too quiet to hear.
In everyday scenarios, when an A440 tuning fork is struck, it produces the musical note A. This sound is easily detectable by the human ear because the physical size of the tuning fork allows the sound to project at a noticeable amplitude. However, a smaller piece of metal vibrating at the same 440 Hz frequency won't be audible to the naked ear due to its weaker amplitude. In this situation, a Laser Microphone can “see” the minute vibrations of the metal at 440 Hz and project the note A to the user through headphones or speakers.
This technology extends far beyond tuning forks and has been used to capture phenomena such as the movement of insect wings, water spray, and the motion of bubbles.
Anna Martynenko
Mesozoic
sound installation, 2024
pre-recorded audio, microelectronic components, concrete, metal
This sound composition is based on research by palaeontologist Ivan Kuzmin.
The project was presented at the Diaghilev Museum of Contemporary Art (Curators Stas Kazimov and Maria Grabareva) in cooperation with the Paleontological Museum of Saint Petersburg State University (Director Dmitry Grigoriev).
Sprouts break through a pile of concrete rubble. We hear sounds from them that might have been heard by living beings 200 million years ago in the Mesozoic era. The concrete fragments are casts of bones from one such animal, a hydrosaurus, found in a dinosaur graveyard located within the city limits of Blagoveshchensk. From the loudspeakers, we hear the sounds of animals and insects that lived at that time, as well as their descendants, whose sounds we can recognise today: alligator, snake, ostrich, turtle, cicadas, etc. Based on these sounds, an artist has created a possible field recording.
Through the bones of the animals that lived in those times, the past sprouts sound in today's urban reality.
Mariam Papoyan
Synthetic Memories
installation, 2024
Steel tears in a virtual ocean
No salt in their flavor, no connection at all.
These are the digital traces that accumulate in our devices over time, like clutter. Due to its sheer presence and overwhelming volume, unfiltered data encourages false confidence and promotes a false sense of security. We are less inclined to be deliberate or selective in shaping our emotional landscape or organizing our thoughts. Unless you consciously filter emotions yourself, technology eclipses the intimacy of emotion, stripping it of its sacredness.
Through artificial intelligence-driven filtering, synthetic, rendered memories crystallize into the metal-coated spheres. These spheres are submerged and suspended in a digital sea of black oil — amorphous and insulating, which shifts from liquid to solid yet retains distinct physical properties. This technocratic realm is both captivating and unsettling. The genuine selection of human memories is tied to intangible sensations like smell or taste. No matter how richly they’re described verbally or visually, the genuine emotional triggers of real memories can’t be replicated artificially. Instead, what forms is a new illusion, a kind of "sub-personality" with its alien inner world — an entity separate from our authentic self.
Katarzyna Oliwia Serkowska
Transparent Danger
photographic installation, 2023
UV printing on polycarbonate
Work is from eUTERUS Collection (Poland)
Collisions with glass rank second, after habitat loss, among the causes of bird deaths related to human activity. It is estimated that billions of birds die in collisions with glass surfaces every year.
Bird vision is their dominant, highly developed sense, but animals are perceptually limited. Transparent surfaces are simply invisible to them and become a deadly barrier. The most common result of a collision is immediate death (or within minutes of the collision) as a result of severing the spinal cord in the cervical region. Every glass panel is a threat: urban skyscrapers with a mirror effect, windows of blocks of flats, single-family houses, noise-absorbing screens on highways or bus-stop shelters made of glass.
Collisions of birds with glass is a phenomenon that can barely be seen with the naked eye and just a few decades ago hardly anyone was aware of its gigantic scale. Unfortunately, the growing awareness of threats does not go hand in hand with solutions which would at least limit the scale of the problem.
Dmitriy Shishov
Corrasion
object, 2024
C, Python programming; MQTT, Modbus; step motor, worm drive, stone
Adviser: Alexey Grachev
Wind speed data from Saint Petersburg’s weather station drives the stepper motor to rotate the stone. The stone gradually turns into sand. In real time, this natural process occurs constantly and is called Corrasion. This work is an attempt to realize the power of processes occurring in nature and their tremendous scale. In the nonhuman time scale period, densely stacked matter was formed. A stone is grating a stone, and the history of the Earth is revealing and immediately disappearing while turning into fine fractions — to be rearranged in the remote future into a new entity.
Hugo Solís García
Metáforas para pianos muertos [Metaphors for Dead Pianos]
sound installation, 2010–2024
SuperCollider; custom electronics, Arduino, DC motors, Raspberry Pi, electromagnets,
piano parts
Metáforas Para Pianos Muertos [Metaphors for dead pianos] is a long-term exploration using old piano parts. Each iteration of the installation/performance is different, however, all share the same logic; searching for nuances and particularities of the objects and generating organic improvisations with the hidden sonorities, creating a dialog between the piano parts, the performer, and the space that embrace the installation. In all the versions, custom electronics are fabricated in order to control and manipulate actuators, motors and electromagnets that allows the generation of string vibrations.
Adam Vackar
The Hogweed Gambit
film [00:18:00; 4K, color, sound, loop], 2022–24
Supported by Czech Television, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Original sound: Natalie Plevakova
The film examines the human interaction with Giant Hogweed, an invasive species originating from the Caucasus. Challenging the traditional perspective on plant migration, the film traces the Hogweed's journey from Central Asia to Eastern Europe and the Americas. By analyzing the political eradication campaigns directed against Giant Hogweed, the video also reveals how the rhetoric of invasion and illegality has been extended to other living beings — whether human, animal, or plant — that appear dissimilar, inconsistent, or otherwise opposed to the dominant system within a given environment. It equally displays the artist’s emotional engagement with the plant and the potential for a positive connection with this widely condemned species.