balatorium

2 week artistic residency and group exhibition with Collectif Trouble, as part of BALATORIUM program, in cooperation with Tihany-based Balaton Limnological Research Institute and the Balaton-felvidéki National Park.

There is no such thing as a pristine nature and all landscapes are anthropogenic. In this sense, the shoreline of Lake Balaton (Hungary) is as manufactured as the car infrastructures running along its coasts, the channels, the dams or the open quarries punctuating the broader water catchment area. In this human made landscape, more-than-humans are making worlds as well, seeding, blooming, nesting. Inadvertently transported across continents in ballast waters or evicted from decorative gardens, some species proliferate and impact the balance of what is perceived as the original ecosystem of Lake Balaton. These species (Quaga mussels Dreissena bugensis, «Chinese sleepper» fish Perccottus glenii or «Ghetto palm» tree Ailanthus) are perceived as invasive, but can also be seen as indicators of a planetary biodiversity affected by dynamics of globalization, as smugglers of remote narratives that can infiltrate, contaminate, but also enrich and diversify our local imaginaries and practices.

The residency was part of BALATORIUM ↗, a program of PAD Foundation↗ on behalf of Veszprém - Lake Balaton European Capital of Culture 2023. During the residency, Collectif Trouble (Jeanne Astrup-Chauvaux, Mathilde Dewavrin & Garance Maurer) explored the concept of «invasiveness» in a transdisciplinary manner.
2023,  Artist in Residency, field research, Balatorium. 
© images: collectif trouble