On November 3, from 3 p.m., the Bucharest public is invited to Parcul Izvor, to transport, in a collective performancefragments representing a reconstruction of the Arsenal Hill (also called Uranus), from the Spring Bridge to the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC). Both the construction and the collective walk of these fragments are desired symbolic actions”in reverse” the felling of the hill in the 80s, as well as a reference to the absurdity of moving churches during that period. The event is an open invitation to both the former residents of the Izvor-Uranus neighborhoods, as well as to all those who want to carry or cradle pieces of the neighborhood, a gesture that activates a transformative dialogue between the participants and various elements of the past – streets, churches, houses. On this ground, representation, always complementary, approaches people and, once approached, invites them to remember.
Hill. Reconstitution represents a new sequence of a long-term artistic research by Ioana Marinescu about the destruction of the Arsenal hill and the Izvor and Uranus neighborhoods. The current project is developed in collaboration with Smaranda Găbudeanu and Iulia Mărăcine, produced by the Asociatia Pentru Teatru si Carte and supported by the Cartierul Uranus group (Costin Gheorghe, Cristian Văraru).
Through an approach that honors mourning for the irreversible losses caused by the totalitarian interventions of the 80s, the project proposes a visual and conceptual exploration of reconstitution, in the form of a sculptural object, focusing on possible, recuperative and reparative directions. Attempting to scale the former Arsenal hill is not reconstruction, but a dynamic and affective collaboration in the present – an interaction that can be imperfect and indeterminate, resulting in an organism in continuous transformation. This approach reflects on the collective effort and endurance required to build not only a physical space, but also a collective memory. The sculptural object was created in a series of workshops with students from the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, coordinated by Ioana Marinescu together with the architect Thomas Goodey.
In addition to the model-sculpture of the hill, placed in front of the museum in the former House of the People, the exhibition will include, on the 4th floor of the building, a documentary film by Laurentiu Calciu, which captures the process of creating the models in the workshops and the performative action of the day the vernissage, this being later exhibited to show the collective meaning of the “restoration” of the hill. A sound work created by Maria Balabaș, together with Mihai Balabaș, will discreetly accompany visitors in the museum spaces, trying to reconstruct in sound form a space left only in memory. The collective action of transporting the hill is guided by the actress Katia Pascariu and the choreographers Andreea David, Smaranda Găbudeanu, Iulia Mărăcine and Eliza Trefaș.
Photo credit: Ioana Marinescu
Hill. Reconstitution is part of a series of performative projects dedicated to displaced communities, initiated by Ioana Marinescu and produced by PATCH. The ‘hill’ object is based on a large cardboard and paper model of Arsenal’s hill – Paper Hill – made in 2019, in a workshop led by Ioana together with Thomas Goodey and the Cartierul Uranus team, at the ‘Ion Mincu’ University of Architecture and Urbanism. Presented in various contexts—exhibited at Casa Costaforu in 2019, at /SAC@Malmaison in 2022 (in the form of a puzzle on wheels in the performance “In three days the grass will grow here…“), transported to London in 2023 in the Beaconsfield art space and used as a mobile installation in the performance “Past Present. Fragments of Memory”—the cardboard model, loaded with the history of these successive uses, was once again restructured this fall in a workshop with architectural students. The model served as the basis for making 20 negatives/moulds, into which the pieces of the new hexagonal concrete brick hill were later cast.
Photo credit: Monica Bumbes
These successive work processes are not only an attempt to reconstitute in-memoriam the cut hill and the demolished neighborhoods, but also to imagine a lost place. Crossing the former flattened neighborhoods with the ‘hill’ object proposes a collective assumption of this complex history and a symbolic reconstitution of the hill.
Those who wish to be an active part of the performance are asked to contact the project team at the email address (email protected) or at no. by phone 0746145516.
Other events
Saturday, November 9
- 14.30 – 16.00, the area between Calea 13 Septembrie and the Academy building. Guided tour supported by Cristian Văraru (Uranus District). Meeting on Calea 13 Septembrie, opposite the MNAC entrance gate.
- 16.00, MNAC. Meeting with the exhibition organizers.
Powered by: Studio Muze, Lemnivor, Nod Makerspace, Vellant Publishing
Thanks: Lucian Călugărescu, Florin Cobzac, Daniela Custrin, Paul Drogeanu, Alina Grau, Ion Molete, Alex Radu, Ovidiu Toader, the students participating in the workshops, the community of the Izvor and Uranus neighborhoods
MNAC support: Sandra Demetrescu, Mălina Ionescu
UAUIM support: Letitia Bărbuica, Melania Dulămea, Lorin Niculae, Angelica Stan
Producer: Association for Theater and Books (PETEC)
Partners: The National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC), the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism (UAUIM), the Center of Excellence in Image Studies (CESI)
Media partners: Radio Romania Cultural, Radio Romania International, IQads, Days and Nights, Metropolis newspaper, Golan Magazine, Cultural Observatory, The Institute, Hub, Happ.ro, Spotmedia, LIFE.ro, Palindrome
Cultural project co-financed by Administration of the National Cultural Fund.
The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.
Source: www.iqads.ro
