LAKAPOLIESIS
“Lakapoliesis (2024) is a project that redefines the traditional relationship between animals and plants, reversing its anthropocentric perspective. lnspired by the illustrated maps of Alexander Humboldt and the writings of Jagadish Chandra Bose and Monica Gagliano, Cibic creates large-format, three-dimensional chromatic maps and vegetal compositions, aspiring to describe the emotions and sentiments of the plant world. Protagonists of the exhibition are wood sculptures, recycled aluminium, marble dust and knotted wool, giving form to a new “vegetal nomenclature” through an original and asymmetrical narrative.”
In the garden, two large-format, recycled-aluminium sculptures - created with the support of the CIAL (National Aluminium Packaging Consortium) - tell the story of the immortality of this materiai and its capacity for rebirth in a multiplicity of forms.
The outdoor works, "Lakapoliesis Renovata" and "Vitalis", made from recycled aluminum for CIAL, introduce a futuristic mythological narrative. These sculptures represent figures that embody the immortality and regenerative capacity of aluminum, while also highlighting the evolving human perception of the plant world.
The works reflect "the artist's interest in the plant world and how it has changed over time: from a tool at the service of humans [...] to a mysterious entity that operates in times and spaces beyond human control."
Inside the building, the colorful tree-like sculptures "Lakapoliesis Purpŭrea—Arbuscŭla", "Tranquilla—Arbuscŭla", and "Defatigāta—Arbuscŭla" represent an attempt to visualize plant emotions through "colored three-dimensional mappings." The use of materials such as carved wood, recycled aluminum, and fine fabrics created in collaboration with Indian communities underscores an artistic approach that blends innovation with craftsmanship.
The "Fragmenta" series of bas-reliefs, made with marble powder, offers a
post-anthropocentric vision in which plants reclaim abandoned cities and interiors, becoming the only living inhabitants. This concept invites reflection on the role of humankind and the resilience of nature.
The bas-reliefs depict scenes "in which plants come to life and turn out to be the only remaining living inhabitants."
Alongside these new works, the exhibition in the Art Pavilion includes an excerpt from Dermapoliesis (2017), a previous project in which Cibic imagined a future in which plants can generate pre-processed perfumes and other products, through a series of botanica! prototypes of a hybrid, futuristic nature that speak of new, hypothetical systems of manufacturing.
The two projects, the results of research that Cibi e has been conducting unceasingly since 2017, show how the artist's fascination with the plant world has changed over time: from a tool in the service of mankind, optimizing our production and distribution, to a mysterious object that operates in times and spaces that elude human contrai.
