When a virulent material enters an ecosystem, it can wreak havoc on existing life. Bittersweet vines in Upstate New York, for example, were brought to the region in the second half of the 19th century to combat erosion and for their sinuous, woody beauty. Native to eastern Asia, these largely poisonous plants quickly became invasive, smothering other specimens and even uprooting trees.
For Mika Rottenberg, there’s another substance that would fall into this category: plastic. Like the bittersweet vines that have decimated forest populations near her studio, plastics have infiltrated innumerable systems, from the oceans to our homes to deep within our own bodies.
In a video from Hauser & Wirth, Rottenberg discusses how these two materials became the basis for a new body of work. On view at the gallery’s Menorca location, Vibrant Matter is the Argentinian artist’s first solo show in Spain and presents a series of glowing fungi sculptures that meld these two toxins.
“I’ve always been interested in collaborating with the forces of nature, thinking about an artwork as something you grow and harvest,” Rottenberg says. As she began to think about the “footprint of the studio,” she turned her focus to the invasive vines in the nearby forest and laundry jugs and other disposables sourced from dumpsters and local recycling centers.
Illuminated spores sprout from pedestals and dangle from the gallery ceiling, their vibrant, plastic tops adding a surreal veil to the largely organic forms. These Lampshares, as the artist calls them, question humanity’s enduring inclination toward toxicity, even when incorporating such pernicious materials into our lives ultimately puts us in danger.
Rottenberg has long been interested in consumption and the rampant nature of capitalism. Along with several video installations, the sculptural works in Vibrant Matter prompt questions about agency and the necessity of regeneration.
“I am interested in these human-made systems where the starting point is to have no clue what is really going on and to try to impose a certain logic on things, and the madness of that,” she adds.
Vibrant Matter is on view through October 26. Find more from Rottenberg on Instagram.
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