ON THE FRINGE

On The Fringe project invites us into a liminal space between science and pseudoscience, truth and myth, fact and fiction. These seemingly clear boundaries are more fluid than they appear. Exploring the “grey areas” of knowledge, artists Andreea Medar, Mălina Ionescu, and Floriama Candea analyse how we classify experiences based on inherited normative frameworks—sets of historically established rules and values guiding our perceptions of the world. Central to On the Fringe are questions about demarcation, limits, and boundaries: where does knowledge end and speculation begin? What are the social consequences of accepting speculations as truths? Where does fantasy intersect with science in constructing knowledge? How fluid is the concept of truth in the information age? The project examines these concepts through the lens of boundaries and limits. It invites us to reflect on how we distinguish between fact and fiction, while also appreciating the cultural richness that develops in these spaces of uncertainty. Andreea Medar and Mălina Ionescu begin their research for “Land under Wave” in Melinești, Oltenia, where the discovery of fossilised seashells serves as a starting point for an investigation not only into the distant past but also into the present. They examine local myths and legends that have emerged around these fossils, highlighting how such discoveries sometimes remain in a shadowy cone, understood more as a blend of science and folklore. The material evidence—the fossils—coexists with legends that transform them into objects of cultural and imaginative significance. Floriama Candea focuses on the pyramid in Prundu, Pitești. She seeks a cultural consensus explaining why people believe in the pyramid effect, starting from the premise that there is a collective attraction to fantastic explanations and how uncertain information integrates into community narratives. She assumes that this attraction is closely related to the meanings attributed to uncertain information and how these meanings branch out within the collective psyche. Navigating the margins between disciplines, between speculation and scientific truth, the works presented in On the Fringe reveal the fragility underpinning human understanding. This project invites us to contemplate the fluid nature of knowledge, showing that often, in its grey areas, we can find fertile ground for opposition, raising essential questions about reality and perception. This exploration of boundaries challenges us to reconsider not only what we know but also how we come to know, inviting us to value ambiguity as a source of inspiration and learning, reflecting on impermanence and the diversity of perspectives.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Andrea Medar & Malina Ionescu

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Andrea Medar & Malina Ionescu work together since 2017. Their common projects include land art interventions, environments, performances, installations and inter/ social media and digital artworks. Their practice is at the same time a dialogue and a convergence of two monologues that investigate and play with themes such as code, cipher, common and shared memory, maps and the way friendship appears, grows and develops its specific and profound mode of communication. Mălina Ionescu's traditional media and theoretical research intersect with Andreea Medar's installations through their shared exploration of the dynamic between image, meaning, and personal memory.

Floriama Candea

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Floriama Candea Floriama Candea explores the dynamics between objects and the way we perceive them by creating hybrid visual identities. Her versatile toolkit spans interactive, kinetic, and video installations to sculpture, experimental electronics, drawing, and printing, with an additional focus on creating visuals using bio-based materials. With the complex relation between science, philosophy and tech, at the core of her artistic practice, she questions our role as well as the stakes of the Anthropocene, at the dawn of a possible new era

Further Reading - Raluca Bujor - Pseudoscience: At the Border Between Reverie, Imitation, and Epistemic Noise

Further Reading - Diane Pricop - ON THE FRINGE

PARTNERS

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

Cultural project co-funded by The Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN). The project does not necessarily represent the position of The Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the manner in which the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.

MEDIA PARTNERS