Can we redefine man’s role and position in relation to the environment, other kingdoms and species? Can we imagine a world in which man’s narrative of the world would not dominate but would dialogue in harmony with all other non-human perceptions, feelings and experiences?
“Eco-Sensoriality. Paths for Communities of the Future” imagines the vision of a planet untouched by man and, consequently, unexploited. A planet where plant species, minerals, as well as animal kingdoms exist, grow and thrive outside the devastating consequences of global warming and pollution. The communities of the future are built based on the reconnection and training of the senses, at the individual and group level, from the desire to develop new languages of communication, where the only prevailing feeling is empathy and the openness to experience the world through the experience of the other, understood as a spectrum wide range of species.
Alina Tofan, the artistic director of the project and performer, tells about the choice of the city of Petroșani as the central point of the project, both as an actual working space and as a point of inspiration in the artistic approach of the project: “Space mining seems to be one of the trends the future. Unfortunately, we tend to colonize space and other planets, new life forms that we eagerly search for. Meanwhile, the Jiului Valley remains the territory where after the resources have been exploited, nothing seems to have been left behind, apart from countless possibilities to reconnect with something we still have: Nature”.
For Vladislav Calestru (Italy/Norway), the creator involved in the artistic project: “The story of Planet Petrila can serve as a transition model towards a cultural industry in the area. As an area in transition, one feels the importance of community, asserting needs and wanting change towards a future that brings more light to the people here. The Jiului Valley impresses with the stories full of emotion and resilience that the people here have”.
The project team consists of Alina Tofan (project initiator / Artistic Director and artistic research), Vladislav Calestru (concept & creation of an immersive eco-sensory installation), Jørgen J. Jenssen (trainer of eco-community workshops, concept & creation of an eco-sensory installation immersive), Ioana Buraga (graphic designer & new media/ sound designer), Alexandru Claudiu Maxim (VR experience creator), Ioana Gabriela Cherciu (concept, research & content creator), Miruna Croitoru (set designer/ visual artist), Vlad Grigore ( graphic designer digital platform), Paul Ruben Grec (actor, logistics coordinator), Bogdan Popa (landscape designer / sensory robotics team coordinator).
Plastic Art Performance Collective connects consciousness, body, and ecology through the arts. It is a group of young interdisciplinary artists formed in 2020 under the Macaia Cultural Association, which draws attention to collective waste and themes such as the environmental crisis, plastic pollution, industrial pollution, climate change, and illegal deforestation—themes addressed through different artistic mediums.
The project is co-financed by the AFCN National Cultural Fund Administration.
