Artist: Maja Bojanić
Curator: Tia Čiček
Animation: Lara Reichmann, Jan Krek
Sound: Gašper Torkar
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Exhibition events
8. 11. at 7 pm: opening of the exhibition
22. 11. at 6 pm: viewing of the exhibition with the curator Tia Čiček
29. 11. at 6 pm: viewing of the exhibition with the curator Tia Čiček
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A Space for Public Entanglement
Public invitation by the Institute for Mould Preservation
8. 11. 2224 at 7 pm
The Institute for Mould Preservation (IfMP) was founded in 2022 to investigate the possibilities of post-conservation.
The origins of the institute are linked to the DobraVaga Gallery in Ljubljana, where researchers led by Maja Bojanić began investigating mould formations on the gallery’s ceiling. The mould colony, codenamed The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Volume Two, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2022 and contributed to the development of contemporary post-conservation. It works in harmony with the natural processes of decay. Today, it is unimaginable that the profession ever regarded decomposition, decay, rotting, putrefaction, weathering and similar processes as negative factors to be counteracted.
Under the auspices of the IfMP, researchers, scientists and writers have been developing and consolidating revolutionary methods for the post-restoration, post-conservation and resettling of mould colonies over the last 200 years. The work, research and findings of the Institute staff in collaboration with moulds continue to expand our understanding of decay processes and preservation, offering new insights through coexistence with moulds found in so-called[1] “museums”.
Thanks to a bold technical innovation, we can open up spaces for public entanglement. The humidification chamber represents the first successfully controlled space that provides the optimal humidification conditions for the human body. This finally enables us to achieve higher moisture levels in moulds through the presence of human bodies.
After the successful humidification process, you can enter the public entanglement spaces[2] and participate in the digital presentations of the Alternaria mould colony from the first spaces of the Institute for Mould Preservation. The heavy rains that hit the so-called “Ljubljana cultural scene” in 2021 may have unintentionally contributed to its spread. Through contact with a large number of different colonies, we had several entry points into the world of mould dynasties, which showed us the way to a symbiotic way of life.
The first institute found its place in the aforementioned DobraVaga Gallery, which was an “art gallery” at the time. It is interesting to note that many so-called “art galleries” and “museums” have been colonised by mould. The key to understanding what happened at the beginning of the 20th century lies in the fact that for thousands of years humankind has been intent on preserving objects, even by unsustainable means. The focus was on keeping these objects intact over time, isolated from contact with living beings. At that time, these objects (and even entire buildings) were often considered more important than some members of their own species. Fortunately, in the 1920s, it was the omnipresence of mould in the so-called “museums” that triggered the Refusal Protocol, and institutions were transformed virtually overnight into Departments of Gathering Decay.
The difficult-to-imagine period before the Great Mould Bloom in the first century of the second millennium was characterised by the unsustainable exploitation of many ecosystems by humankind. The proliferation of “art galleries” and “museums” in confined spaces is also unimaginable. It is no coincidence that we are opening new spaces for public entanglement on the former foundations of another so-called “art gallery” – Škuc Gallery. Many of the so-called “cultural institutions” were connected by a complex pipe system that allowed all the spaces to become entangled and consequently mould to appear and settle.
After the great bloom, we have finally transitioned to a sustainable model that embraces decay, aided by the spread of Alternaria mould. The so-called sustainable post-restoration model we know today was developed by the Institute for Mould Preservation, in collaboration with the Rodent Section of ZVKDS, in the late Y2K period.
The Institute for Mould Preservation, in collaboration with the Advanced Post-Conservation Studies University Programme, continues its research into various mould colonies that consolidate decay and decomposition as sustainable measures that allow living species to coexist comfortably. With the newly acquired public entanglement spaces, we can now share their findings with all visitors. And last but not least, the new humidification chamber will also facilitate a symbiotic approach with one of the oldest mould species, which either succumbs to or withdraws from the gaze.
You are warmly welcome!
Tia Čiček
Institute for Mould Preservation – Public Relations Department
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[1] So-called at that time.
[2] Access to the laboratory behind the public entanglement spaces is restricted to researchers only.
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Founded in 2022, the Institute for Mould Preservation (IfMP) is the most important research institution that continues mould research in former museums, galleries and archives using contemporary scientific approaches. The IfMP is now key to maintaining a sustainable post-restoration model that enables the coexistence of the human species with a genus of black mould called Alternaria.
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Slovene proofreading: Inge Pangos
English translation: Arven Šakti Kralj
Design: Lea Jelenko
Cover image: Maja Bojanić, The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Volume Two, 2022.
Photos from the opening: Simao Bessa
Exhibition view: Matic Pandel
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Acknowledgements: Mojca Žitnik, Velko Bojanić, Rok Bojanić, Nal Kocjan, Zavod SCCA-Ljubljana.
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The Škuc Gallery programme is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Ljubljana.
