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WHEN INVASIVE SPECIES MEET II
Exhibited works during “DOWNSTREAM #1” in KC Grad, Belgrad (Serbia)
Sabrina Rosina
Invasive Island
2023
wood, ratchet straps, soil, plants, plastic objects
120x120x130 cm
A curated biotope of invasions is installed on a mobile platform, built from the very same material as the MS Fusion, the research vessel of the residency. Reoccurring matters of sustainability and survival. The species planted are all 'alien' and mostly 'invasive', representing a seasonal glimpse into the future and current riparian vegetation of the Danube. The visitor is invited to pick up the leash and help the Invasive Island move through the exhibition, creating new encounters.
Sabrina Rosina
Ruptured Shores
2022
sediment samples, petri dishes, Nile Red solution, flask, funnel, safety goggles, UV-lamp, glass, tablet, vegetation samples, plastic
120x60x80 cm & 120x300 cm
If we are to survive the catastrophes of the Anthropocene, we shall look for modes of survival and adaption amongst those, who are specialists: invasive alien species. Representing a wide spectrum of ruderal vegetation covering up the scars of the lands, these invasives might be as well saviors. To find evidence for this thesis, troubled and distorted river banks were investigated. At 21 Sampling Points the artist analyzed: vegetation, water pollution and microplastics in the sediment. The collected data is the source of a new understanding of the Danube's meandering biodiversity and is presented in information-heavy digital maps.
<Link to the residue of the original map here> (click on icons for more info)
Ruptured Shores, Plastic Beds
During a two months lasting research residency on a floating installation, the MS Fusion, I traveled with and on the Danube all the way from Novi Sad, Serbia, to the Black Sea. Through immersive fieldwork I collected data, material and images.
The Danube is one of the most important axes through Europe. Border, transport system, life source. As cultures drift and shift, so does the flora and fauna. Ships or boats have always been a major key in terms of migrating not only goods and people - but also species of all kind, which travel undercover with the vessels: insects, fungi, small mammals within in the stored goods in the ships’ trunk, as well as fish eggs, mussels and aquatic plants along the vessels outer planks. Furthermore, seeds of land plants, shat on deck by seabirds or travelling on the soles of the crew with them – the list goes on.
Travelling by ship has always been an “invasion”, by the means of bringing and taking foreign DNA to places they’re not native. With this work want to remodel this term as not only aggressive and potentially deadly to other species, but also as a diversifying, abundant power and resource. If we want to survive the catastrophes of the Anthropocene, we shall look for modes of survival and adaption amongst those, who are specialists. Here come invasive alien species into play. They often represent a wide spectrum of the ruderal vegetation which quickly covers up the scars of the lands. Invasions as saviors.