Crossing Fields - Elena Mazzi

When some physicists went to see Turkish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2011, they met there an artist (Elena Mazzi) , who was interested in the same subject: establishing a dialogue between art and science. 
But is a fusion of physics and art possible?
As a result of this encounter, Elena started a one year long exploration of the subject, with the help of the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, creating the video "Lacuna_Land of hidden spaces”, where solar light, cultural venetian heritage and Lagoon plants are telling a story.

Already in this early stage the interplay of physics and art lead unavoidably to reflection of useless mega technology, visualized by the big cruise ships in front of San Marco, but also in a non visual way, since the Mose project, invisible, is dominating by now the fate of the cultural heritage of Venice and the nature of the Lagoon as well as the everyday life of the inhabitants.

The result of these studies was this project: a Linear Mirror made with traditional Venetian glass mirrors, with engravings made in the traditional Venetian technique, these engravings showing the plants of the lagoon, which are threatened by mega technology as well as by its failure.
Reflecting Venice confronts the glorious past of Venice with its depressing present: when Venice still was a cultural superpower, it also was a technological superpower, selling its high tech products (glass production and elaboration) to the whole world, and having the most advanced industrial production system in its arsenal. It does not need saying, that if Venice would still be at this high cultural level, the Mose project would likely work, though it would presumably look quite different.
Reflecting Venice was shown during the Venice Architecture biennale, supported and acquired by Botkyrka Konsthall (Stockholm). Lacuna_Land of hidden spaces was then shown at the 14° Istanbul Biennale in 2015, and in many other occasions all over the world.

For PHYSICS&ART AGAINST CO2 Elena has continued her research, by filming the Linear Mirror again, in another context and for another use, with the purpose of tracking new developments of the installation, particularly focusing on biomass.
Elena will exhibit this entire process by showing us the dialogue between her and scientist Hans Grassmann, sketches, drawings and pictures made during the course of the years, little installation disseminated in the library, as well as a video screening program where both videos will be presented along with other videos by other artists who have worked with solar light in the past.