Join us for the opening reception of Itinerant Signal Institute (Rite of Spring), a solo exhibition by Amelia Marzec on Thursday, August 6 from 6 – 9 PM, with a brief artist talk at 7 PM.

Itinerant Signal Institute (Rite of Spring) is a fictional institute and installation, grounded in techno-ecological art. The story of the Institute is told through sculpture, digital images, internet art, microcontrollers, and scientific displays. In it, creatures have emerged from the melting permafrost to join the Institute and return to modern-day cities to examine their climates. The creatures wear headdresses of bones and fossils, inspired by Eastern European carnival costumes that denote the changing of seasons. They acknowledge the effect of human activity on the Arctic Circle, and anticipate increasing climate migration due to military fuel consumption. The Institute tests for environmental toxins to identify places of relative safety, through small hand-built quasi-scientific devices that test the air and soil. The work also addresses queer migration, and re-defining the idea of home in the current political climate. It incorporates plant knowledge to influence the endocrine system, reducing human desire for late-stage capitalism and war at a biological level. Sites tested by the Institute include former military bases, including WWII sites in Europe, and Newtown Creek, the location of one of the United State’s largest oil spills, where the artist’s family lived when they emigrated to New York City. The work evolves as the Institute installs servers in partner organizations  as the project moves from place to place.

About the Artist

Amelia Marzec is a New York based artist engaging with communications infrastructure to inform a speculative future. Her work has been exhibited at SIGGRAPH, MIT, ISEA (Canada), University of the Arts Helsinki (Finland), ONCE Foundation Contemporary Art Biennial (Spain), NODE Forum for Digital Arts Biennial (Germany), and is part of the New Museum’s Rhizome ArtBase. She has been a resident at Eyebeam, Ox-Bow, Harvestworks, and ZK/U Center for Art and Urbanistics in Berlin. She was a fellow at NYSCA/NYFA, A.I.R. Gallery, a Tow Fellow at Columbia University, a visiting artist at the Center for Integrated Media at Calarts, a grantee of the Research Foundation of CUNY, and a nominee for the World Technology Awards for Art. Her work has been featured in Wired, Make, Hyperallergic, Neural Magazine, Metropolis Magazine, Creators, Time Out New York, and the front page of Reddit. She holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design, and a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Accessibility

Flux IV is located on the ground floor of 56-21 2nd Street, Long Island City, NY 11101 between the Queens Landing Boathouse & Environmental Center and Gotham Point apartments. The closest bus stop is 2 St/55 Ave on the Q101. The closest subway station is Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave on the 7 line (purple) and 21st st G line (green). The closest ferry pier is Hunter’s Point South Ferry Landing. A Citibike station is located at Center Blvd & Hunters Point South Ferry Landing. iPark (paid parking) is available on 1-20 56th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101. There is a public restroom left of our front door.