What’s new
The exhibition Spectr[al]s of Nature has been included in MACRO:MICRO, part of the third edition of the Festival della Meraviglia in Laveno Mombello from 17 May to 1 June 2025. The project brings together contemporary art and scientific research to explore water as a vital, political, and poetic element. It is the result of a collaboration between Austrian artist Ingrid Mayrhofer-Hufnagl and Italian artist Alessandro Puccia, with scientific input from researchers at the JRC.
Mayrhofer-Hufnagl presents 3D-printed sculptures generated from Copernicus satellite data and the Atlas of Global Surface Water Dynamics, translating forty years of global water change into physical form. An accompanying video, narrated by Alan Belward (JRC), contextualises the data through four emblematic aquatic environments. Puccia’s microscopic photographs of frozen water droplets reveal hidden structures and colours, offering a more intimate and emotional perspective on water.
About the Festival della Meraviglia
The Festival della Meraviglia 2025 is promoted by Associazione Casanova APS, in partnership with the Municipality of Laveno Mombello, with additional support from the Fondazione Comunitaria del Varesotto.
Based on the Lombard shore of Lake Maggiore, the festival brings together diverse cultural perspectives to question whether wonder is still possible in a world that often feels already exhausted of new narratives. Its programme addresses social, cultural, and environmental themes through exhibitions and transdisciplinary encounters.
About the SciArt Collaboration
Spectr[al]s of Nature is among the works selected for “NaturArchy: Towards a Contract with Nature”, an initiative curated by the JRC.
Since 2016, SciArt has supported collaborations between artists, scientists, and policymakers to develop new languages for engaging with complex environmental challenges. In this context, Spectr[al]s of Nature uses scientific data not to illustrate, but to question how we perceive time, change, and our relationship with water as a planetary system.
Details
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