Two new interventions in the public space were presented this Friday within a preliminary programme of the Rijeka 2020 European Capital of Culture project: The Time slip and Imminence installations are the result of a collaborative project by the Croatian artist Ivana Franke and two Finnish architects, Tommi Grönlund and Petteri Nisunen.
The Time slip is a light installation on the bridge across the Rječina river, where the artists’ guiding principle was to modernise the traditional place of gathering of the young, and the hub of Rijeka’s identity.
“This installation was designed just for Rijeka. The artists have been exploring the city, looking for locations and interactions they found interesting, and finally they have chosen the popular Kont (Titov trg 1), a place well known and highly frequented within the story of Rijeka’s urban lifestyle, particularly among young people. Apart from Kont itself, the artists also used the Rječina river as a source of inspiration”
, said Morana Matković, coordinator of the Sweet & Salt flagship of Rijeka 2020 at the presentation of the two installations, which were created as part of this very flagship.
The installation was set up on the bridge at Kont itself where a streak of strobe lighting was installed, 22.5 m in length which was also programmed in such a way that the intensity of lighting changes relative to the speed of Rječina’s flow. This achieves the effect of the lights pulsating in sync with the flow of the river. The installation was connected to the urban lighting infrastructure, which makes it turn on and off in sync with the system, and also makes the installation itself a part of urban lighting.
The installation will remain in Rijeka until the end of 2020.
The other installation by the same authors, Imminence, was presented on the same day at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in one of its yet unsettled parts, and it is a sound installation which also includes the use of water.
“In their initial thoughts on the creation of this installation, among other things, the artists touched upon the climate change issue, hence the name of the installation. This is something that cannot be avoided, it is a hot topic on a global scale, and something that is actually happening to us all as we speak, which makes it all the more frightening”
, explained Sabina Salamon, the senior curator of MMCA.
The installation consists of a mesh of small glass tubes with water leaking through them. The installation unites the elements of water, light and sound thus bringing the focus of attention to the backside of Rijeka’s new cultural centre, emerging within the post-industrial Benčić complex. In the spring of 2020. the installation will be on display at the Anhava Gallery in Helsinki as part of Croatia’s EU Presidency.
Ivana Franke is a Croatian visual artist who specialises in exploring light, with a focus on perceptual thresholds. From her several dozen international exhibitions, some are particularly worth mentioning: Schering Stiftung Project Space in Berlin (2017), The Shanghai Biennale (2016), Peggy Guggenheim, Venice (2011), Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin (2012), Manifesta 7 (2008), The Biennale of Venice (2007) and The MoMA P.S.1. (2001).
Tommi Grönlund and Petteri Nisunen are an artistic duo from Helsinki, working together since the mid-1990s, after having completed their architectural studies. So far, they took part in ten public works projects, and in nearly fifty juried international exhibitions, some of which are particularly worth mentioning: The Biennale of Venice (2001), The Moscow Biennale (2009), Art Unlimited, Basel Art fair (2005).
Photo and video: mojarijeka.hr
