Art | Bastion
2085 NW 2nd Avenue, Miami, Fl
April 30 – June 4th, 2015

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 30th 7 to 10 pm
 

Art Bastion is pleased to present Through the Looking Glass, the inaugural Miami solo exhibition of Darya Warner. The exhibition introduces «Tissue Sample of Undisclosed Origin», a series of 17 mixed media works, and an interactive installation «Tribute to Edison».

Originally from Belarus, Darya Warner arrived to the US in 2001. Her work revolves around the complexity of nature and global environmental consciousness, in which living organisms are the major focus. Through bio-processing and engaging with living matter (e.g. mycelium, bioluminescent algae, glowing E.Coli), combined with the use of modern technologies (CNC machines), Darya creates interactive installations, visual displays, and sculptures to engage the viewer into becoming more aware of the world around them and to encourage her audience to rethink their place as ‘sapiens’ in the complexity of living organisms that make up this Earth.

Darya draws inspiration from her dreamlike voyages to the distant worlds she discovers through microscopy. This fantastical journey is manifested in her 3D sculptural piece – a humanoid figure that is wrapped in the imagery of the painting it faces – which is shown reflected. This pays tribute to microscopic research, as well as to the second of Lewis Caroll’s acclaimed novels “Through the Looking Glass”, where Alice revisits a fantastical world by climbing through a mirror.

« Tribute to Edison » is an interactive installation of suspended light bulbs filled with bioluminescent algae (founded in warm coastal waters) suspended from enlarged laser cutouts of the microscopic images of the algae as a single cell. The viewer is encouraged to touch the bulbs so the algae react and produce a phosphorescent glow. The

planktons’ light cycle was altered by the artist so the viewer can experience the artwork "in action" during daylight. The idea of biological control and substituting non-living material with living organisms is shown in this artwork.