Marko Peljhan
Presentation of practice and discussion, 20 November 2021, 19:00 @ Švicarija (MGLC)
"The ‘Mjesec’ (Moon) landscape above Baška. It is us, the inventors/explorers of the new sensibilities, children of number 317, walking high up above the sea, glistening in the sun and deeper blue than ever. The bay is far below. /…/ Deconstructing states. Projecting visions. To the east the Velebit mountains. A spectacular sight. Monumental. Barren. Cold. Silently majestic. Behind them occupied Lika and further East Udbina and Bihac. War. Me, Ivana and Ivan. /…/ What is next for us, the creators of the landscapes of the future? We have been discussing what the theatre of the future should look like. What it should be. /…/ We start talking about survival. Survival of the constructive, inventive, exploring forces. Survival of performative systems during the deconstruction of society. I see stages move and walk by themselves, armoured and autonomous. /…/ But first I talk about the landscape of Ladomir. Right here, on the EarthMoon of Krk. People wrapped in survival cocoons, sleeping. Other people visiting them. They are silently talking to each other. A stage appears on the horizon and walks slowly forth. On it the sailors of Ladomir work the spinnaker of thought. Large sails propel it forward, a complex mechanism allows its legs to lift and twist. There are no metal noises. The materials are new and unknown. It does have legs and it looks like an insect. It has the functionality and energy balance of a bee and the armour of an Armageddon cockroach. /…/ They will connect themselves to the satellites, they will roam the globe. They will discover its deep laws. They will be creators from all directions, brought on the platform by different winds. Scientists and artists. Discovering the laws of time. Of communication. Of the electromagnetic flux. Of the navigation of whales, birds and people. They will measure and calculate the dynamics of thunder and cells. They will equate and understand. The final equation and law. They will sail far away. At incredible speeds. And the world will become their stage."
(Excerpt from Krk - First Makrolab Concept Text, 1994)
open gallery
Marko Peljhan is a theatre and radio director, conceptual artist and researcher. He founded and co- founded several still active arts organizations in the 90’s such as Projekt Atol and one of the first media labs in Eastern Europe LJUDMILA. From 1994 on he worked on Makrolab, a project that focuses on telecommunications, migrations and weather systems research in an intersection of art/science/engineering; the Interpolar Transnational Art Science Constellation and the Arctic Perspective Initiative. He is the recipient of many prizes for his work, including the 2001 Golden Nica Prize at Ars Electronica with Carsten Nicolai and his work has been exhibited internationally at multiple biennales (Venice, Lyon, Istanbul, Gwangju…) and festivals, at documenta, ISEA, Ars Electronica and museums and art institutions worldwide (YCAM, ICC-NT, PS.1. MOMA, GARAGE…).
He serves as professor and director of the MAT Systemics Lab at the University of California Santa Barbara, the Chair of the Media Arts and Technology program at UCSB, the coordinator of international cooperation of the SPACE-SI Slovenian Centre for Space Sciences and Technologies and editor at large of the music label rx:tx. In the radio spectrum he is known as S54MX.
