The opening of the exhibition 'Glass Globes / 25 demolished houses' will take place on June 5, 2009, at 18.30, in the New Gallery of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Venice - Palazzo Correr, Campo Santa Fosca, Cannaregio 2214 – 30121.

The project places into discussion the destruction of low-rise private houses built at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century in the central area of the city of Bucharest, Romania. Nowadays, these houses are being demolished and replaced with blocks of flats or company headquarters, producing the eviction of an important segment of the built history of Bucharest. This process of replacement of old houses is fueled by the development of the city, but also by economic mechanisms.

However, the demolitions in the central area are also linked to an attitude towards the historical continuity of the urban landscape that is not at all protective. In time, this special relationship with the built memory will produce a cultural impoverishment of the city in general.

The exhibition comprises a series of 25 glass globes found in a deserted glass factory, along with 25 photos of the demolished houses. The glass globes contain 25 brick fragments coming from these 25 demolished houses. These pieces of brick are shaped like a small house and they are inserted into the glass globes along with other materials (poxiline / plastic, poxipol, black and white paint, glitter, water). The snow globes are fully functional, being able to display the falling snow effect.

To produce a glass globe means to set in motion an imaginary world. Usually, these objects are used to promote architecture monuments of touristic value, such as the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building. They tend to have a commercial function as well, a fact that often places them in the aesthetic area of kitsch.

This being said, the objects proposed by this exhibition are problematic. They function efficiently as oneiric motors, setting in motion the viewer’s dreams of the house and the corresponding images of peace. Nevertheless, they also have a critical content. The iconic model of the house, visible between the snow flakes within the glass globe, is part of a dead body. Daydreaming successfully recreates the symbolic image of the house, but it fails to resurrect its empirical existence.

Furthermore, the objects contain a self-destructive process. With the passing of time, water infiltrates the brick fragments and they start to dissolve. The water takes on a red color, and becomes increasingly murky. It is quite possible that in a mater of years some of the brick fragments will completely dissolve, thus bringing about the complete disappearance of the iconic image of the house.

The artistic endeavor assumes the power to create imaginary worlds, being at the same time quite aware of the difference between the latter and reality. The objects contain the contradiction between the real and the imagined, making it visible with the aid of physical processes that illustrate the histories placed inside the objects.

The current exhibition is an extended version of my preoccupation with the subject of demolition. It is also an enlarged version of the opening exhibition at galeria 29 – an exhibition space built in the living room of the apartment where I live with my family.