Mika Rottenberg's Vibrant Matter at Hauser & Wirth Menorca is her first solo show in Spain, featuring glowing fungi sculptures made from invasive bittersweet vines and discarded plastics. The works merge organic and synthetic materials, with illuminated spores sprouting from pedestals and dangling from the ceiling. Reclaimed laundry jugs and disposables form vibrant plastic tops that veil the natural forms. The Lampshares confront humanity's persistent embrace of toxic commodities and the environmental penetration of plastics. Video installations accompany the sculptures to probe themes of consumption, capitalism, agency, and the necessity of ecological and cultural regeneration.
When a virulent material enters an ecosystem, it can wreak havoc on existing life. Bittersweet vines in Upstate New York, for example, were brought to the region in the second half of the 19th century to combat erosion and for their sinuous, woody beauty. Native to eastern Asia, these largely poisonous plants quickly became invasive, smothering other specimens and even uprooting trees.
she turned her focus to the invasive vines in the nearby forest and laundry jugs and other disposables sourced from dumpsters and local recycling centers. Illuminated spores sprout from pedestals and dangle from the gallery ceiling, their vibrant, plastic tops adding a surreal veil to the largely organic forms. These Lampshares, as the artist calls them, question humanity's enduring inclination toward toxicity, even when incorporating such pernicious materials into our lives ultimately puts us in danger.
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