Meron Gallery hosts “Cargo Cult”, – an exhibition signed by Flaviu Moldovan, an artist who reinterprets veneration in contemporary art. Curated by Crina Ciocian, the exhibition analyzes the unjustified veneration of objects, ideas and symbols validated by the social or artistic context.

Inspired by the historical phenomenon of the ‘Cargo Cult’, the exhibition brings to the public the way in which societies interpret signs and objects as manifestations of a future promise, transforming them into symbols of salvation. Flaviu Moldovan transposes this phenomenon into a contemporary context, where blind faith in mystical messages, art objects or promises from invisible entities becomes a reflection of the fragility of human beliefs.

“Cargo Cult can be synonymous with spiritual slippage. It is a phenomenon of disillusionment based on misinterpreted signs. Today, we see this everywhere: from modern prophets who claim to receive messages from the astral to religions and ideologies that promise absolute truths. In this sense, cargo cult is no longer about simple objects, but about ideas that shape our perceptions and reality”, explains the artist Flaviu Moldovan.

The exhibition brings together representative works from Flaviu Moldovan’s artistic career, including pieces such as “Guernica 2016”, a reinterpretation of Picasso’s masterpiece as a response to an invisible war, “Actress, the 1st”, a portrait of a DJ seen as a mystical entity of the clubbing era, and “The Road to the Center”, a symbolic self-portrait about the filtering and interpretation of information.

“Anything, if served in the right context, can become art. We live in an age of blind veneration, where the market and established institutions turn objects and ideas into absolute symbols. The question is: How much of what we choose to worship is real, and how much is just an illusion?” adds the artist.

The “Cargo Cult” exhibition can be visited at Meron Gallery between February 6, 2025 and March 17, 2025. Entry to the Meron Gallery is free.

About Flaviu Moldovan:
Flaviu Moldovan (b. 1983) is a Romanian visual artist, designer, entrepreneur and teacher who lives and works in Cluj-Napoca. Flaviu Moldovan’s artistic interests are among the most diverse, covering a wide range of activities in the fields of drawing, design, painting, photography, and media, which use images as a communication tool. Flaviu is also the founder of the Plankton Gallery and a teacher at the Plankton Academy, where he teaches a series of painting, drawing and design courses.