works
video
"Self-Portrait as a Falling Tree", HD Video, 2023
A performance for video made in front of my grandparent's walnut and the remains of the willow branches taken down by a fast storm on the 14th of July of 2023. It is also made in response to the massive tree cutting action undertaken by Ilfov county council to pave the way for the enlargement of the county road. According to my calculations over 3000 thousand trees have been cut so far. The film can also be seen as an `hommage` to Bas Jan Ader.
"Crețești Studio Garden", HD, Video, 5 Min, with atmospheric sounds , 2022
This video was made for the 15th edition of the ”One World Romania” documentary film festival, invited by tranzit.ro, alongside other artists and groups who have studios in rural areas or have initiated some forms of cultural activities in these spaces. Cretesti studio garden is were I live and work and were my grandparents cultivated the land all their lives. The video captures daily moments in the garden in the month of May, mostly from the perspective of a dog also living on this farm.
"Letters to a Young Gardener", HD, Video, 25 Min, in English and German, with Romanian Subtitles, 2020
The artist performs letters received from various European and American institutions where she had applied for teaching and similar positions between 2018 and 2020. Concomitantly she performs seasonal gardening chores, between the months of March and October, in her grandparents' garden and greenhouse where her studio is also located. Video made for "Europa Wonderland" exhibition in Timisoara.
"The Myth of the Eternal Return", 8 Min., Several Languages, 2015
Video made of found footage, clips of videos found online from various international "Heidi" movies. All of the scenes included here are from the moment where Clara learns how to walk. It was made in 2015 during a two months residency in Zurich, Switzerland, just as a new Heidi movie was coming out. It was shown in "Growing Up and Staying Young-Tales of Heidi", Haus zum Palmbaum, Zurich (2015) and in "Being Mountains, Being Sees", Lateral ArtSpace, Cluj, Romania. (2017)
"Matonge - Tervuren", 25 Min., 2 Channel Video, 2014
"Matonge - Tervuren"was made after a 2 month residency in Brussels in 2012, at Bains Connectives, with curator Anca Mihulet. Matonge Ixelles is the African Diaspora neighborhood in the Belgian capital and Tervuren is a small town outside Brussels where the Royal Museum for Central Africa is located. The museum had a then unbroken discourse of Belgian colonialism in Congo. Via interviews with Congolese artists we tried to make sense of these two worlds apparently so close to each other. The video juxtaposes our 2012 unbraiding performance with interviews and the Congolese Sape cultural mouvement, a form of artistic resistance to the aftermath of colonialism. Shown in "Dispositions in Time and Space" at MNAC Bucharest, 2014-2015.
"We, Our Friends and Us", 33 Min., in Romanian with English Subtitles, 7 Channel Video, 2013
We, Our Friends and Us: A Theatre Piece for Multiple Monitors, is an installation that arose from discussions on apparently divergent topics such as civic activism and spirituality, which the artist had with various people from her circle of acquaintances. Made for Salonul de Proiecte, 2011-2013.
PART I, 15 Min., in Romanian and Romani with English Subtitles, 2012
This is a video made in collaboration with Roma children and their Romanian friends in a village in Sibiu county, Romania. After reading "Momo" by Michael Ende to them (and after having spent time together over a summer), we embarked on a spontanous filmed theater play about princes, princesses and wizards. Video made for "Chelen Amenca" project in 2012. Shown at the Bruckenthal Museum in Sibiu (2012) and within the "Good Girls" exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest (2013). As of 2020 it is part of the collection of the National Museum of Contemporary Art of Romania/MNAC.
Maan Menelu, 7 Min., in Romanian with English Subtitles, 2009
This is a video made in Paris, France, during a residency at the Romanian Cultural Insititute. It consists of the artist performing daily activities in the "city of love" while reciting "Manele", Romanian-Romani pop songs, usually about heart ache and sorrow. Manele are usually not very popular among "elite" citizens. Video shown, among other venues, at the International Centre for Contemporary Art, CIAC, Bucharest (2009) and the 5th Video Art Biennial in Tel Aviv, Israel (2010).
"Pink Elephant", 6 Min., in English, 2007
Pink Elephant (Elephant in the Salon) was made as a creative response to a colleague's installation about the war in Iraq. It was shown as a barber shop monitor video in Erin O'Brian's "barber shop" installation, as part of the 2007 "Text Off the Page" exhibition at Gallery 2, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in December 2007.
5+20 (WORDS), 15 Min., English Text and Machinary Sounds, 2006
This a sound and text only piece made as an introduction to a theater play and consisting only of the presentation of its (im)possible characters. Video made as a response to the new situation of living in the United States of America for a class at the School of the Institute of Chicago, led by Marcellino Stuhmer.
The sounds are taken from BBC recordings of domestic environments, farm machinery and other everyday sounds used in a theatrical way. Video shown at the "Broken English and the Missing Piece Film Festival" in Goteborg, Sweden (2008), among other venues.
"Nice Day", 3 Min. 45 Sec., Part of the "Mamaia/Grandmother" Project, 2004 - 2005
"Nice Day" video and "Three Shots Stories" photograph series shot at my grandparents' farm in rural Romania, near Bucharest. It was first shown at the Postgraduate Thesis exhibition at Goldsmiths College, London in 2005. Shown within "Offset" exhibition at Plan B Gallery, Cluj and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, Romania (2005) among other venues.
"Territory of Fear", 8 Min., Animal Sounds, 2002-2003
The Territory of Fear video documents the slaughter of lambs for Easter, a contemporary ritual that symbolically repeats, via the sacrificial lamb, the (self)sacrificing of Jesus. As I had been familiar with this very violent, but not very well known – in all its visceral details – custom, I documented several such Easter time slaughters in a village near Bucharest, where my grandparents had lived all their lives. Video showed, among other venues, at UNA Gallery, Bucharest, Mogosoaia Palaces, Ilfov County, Romania (2003), Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, USA (2008), Oberliht, Moldova (2010) and Aiurart Gallery, Bucharest (2014).