The event “Bucureşti Sud” (South Bucharest), which opened on Wednesday, October 21st at Halele Carol, consisted of a series of conferences, an art show, a visual performance and an audible one as well. Organized by Zeppelin, “Bucureşti Sud” questions this particular area of the capital from the perspective of the industrial and post-industrial spaces that can be reconverted into artistic spaces or places for hosting events. The south, although having rarely been taken into consideration until 5-10 years ago, is already bustling with alternative spaces. Among them are The Ark, NOD Makerspace, The National Center for Dance or Tranzit.ro gallery, with Halele Carol being the most recent spot on the map

With a more functional, rather than aesthetic architecture, and consisting of a number of industrial halls that have been unused for decades and decorated with led based paint, like they did in the old days, Halele Carol is a sufficiently modular space that can be used for various “artistic” purposes. I hate the word “artistic” in this particular context, where a party with 2-3 invited graffiti artists is placed in the same category with, say, a sculpture art show, without the two having anything in common. In this sort of spaces, however, mercantilism and real art are able to coexist in a weird way, and moreover, the two actually sustain each other. The latest trend seems to be the use of old industrial spaces for NGO headquarters and a “peg house” for rent for various parties. As long as this keeps the spaces alive and afloat, I cannot oppose. Unfortunately, the social impact is very small, if it is there at all.

During this event, alongside the Kotki duo’s visuals that explore the theme of glitch graphics, almost ASCII, the conferences did not bring anything new to the table regarding the typical Bucharest industrial architecture, but it was a great opportunity for other to take notes because the presentations were not rigidly academic. I was more interested in the interactive representations courtesy of Modulab team. Modulab is a new workshop dedicated to new media in all shapes and sizes, soft- or hard-ware. The team combines techno-magic elements with technology and art. Their productions are classically entertaining, a lot of them being interactive, but they also enter the area where fun meets art and (re)produces it. Modulab decided to make an in-situ installation based on the metallic echo of an immense hall. (R)evolve(R) is made up of a round, spinning table, with 12 sonar specific sensors installed on a metallic bar above it. The sensors pick up the information regarding the presence and proximity of the objects placed on the rotating table and sends it, via an Arduino processor, to a series of 17 actuators that strike the metal beams that support the entire hall.

(R)evolve(R) explores the silent existence of unused industrial spaces that need just a few impulses in order to come alive and become interactive instruments. A work of art within anyone’s reach, a symphony that is perpetually in the making. Anyone could place any type of object on the table, and the object would produce a sound with a certain rhythm coming from one of the 17 points that have been placed at various heights and distances. This is a post-industrial orchestra, it is half robotic, but it breathes via human interaction, as you can see in the video bellow: