<nettime> THINKING IS A HYBRID GARDEN - First Major Retrospective of Francesco Mariotti

[Jose-Carlos Mariategui via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>]

THINKING IS A HYBRID GARDEN. THE MARIOTTI – LUY ARCHIVE (1964–2024)
JOINT EXHIBITION AT THE MUSEO DE ARTE DE LIMA - MALI AND THE MUSEO DE ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO  MAC LIMA 

CURATED BY MIGUEL A. LOPEZ AND JOSE-CARLOS MARIATEGUI

On view: November 29, 2025, to April 26, 2026, at MALI and MAC Lima

In 1968, at just 25 years old, Francesco Mariotti and Klaus Geldmacher presented one of the first interactive light and sound installations in history at Documenta 4 in Kassel—a monumental cube equipped with 9,000 light bulbs, 1,000 fluorescent lamps, multiple speakers, and a giant fan that transformed the Orangerie into a 24-hour forum for immersive experiences and collective debate. A year later, representing Switzerland at the X São Paulo Biennial (1969), he unveiled The Circular Movement of Light, a penetrable multisensory temple that simulated a full 24-hour cycle in just 60 minutes through programmed sequences of light, scent, temperature, and sound—anticipating by decades the immersive environments we now take for granted. At the Locarno VideoArt Festival, Mariotti developed his groundbreaking technosculptures—hybrid creatures that fused technology with Amazonian mythologies and computer-generated poetry, prefiguring contemporary conversations around generative AI, algorithmic creativity, and expanded authorship.

THINKING IS A HYBRID GARDEN is the first major retrospective dedicated to the work of Francesco Mariotti (Bern, Switzerland, 1943) and his partner María Luy (Puerto Maldonado, Peru, 1950). The curatorial project, led by Miguel A. López and José-Carlos Mariátegui, is grounded in the concept of the hybrid, a central idea in the work of both artists. Mariotti conceives hybridity as a mode of coexistence between opposites—nature and technology, art and science, the organic and the synthetic—a practice of resistance and transformation that takes on renewed significance in today’s context, where artificial intelligence is reshaping the relationships between humanity, environment, and creation.

Unfolding across four galleries and 1,200 m2 at MALI and MAC Lima, the exhibition offers an extensive journey through the Mariotti – Luy Archive, currently on long-term loan to MALI.  The exhibition traces a six-decade trajectory from Mariotti's early experiments in Hamburg and his participation in the countercultural movements of the 1960s, through the radical collective experiences of Contacta Festival (1971–72) and E.P.S. Huayco (1980–81) in Peru, to his iconic technosculptures of the 1980s and 90s—including Rana (1987), a zoomorphic sculpture that recites computer-generated poetry, and Gran Guacamayo Precolombino (1992), which responds to visitors by reciting texts in twelve indigenous languages. The show also includes Mariotti's ongoing Hybrid Gardens series—installations combining recycled plastics, PET bottles, and LED lights to construct habitats that are simultaneously natural and artificial—and his Firefly Memorial project (2017–present), honouring environmental defenders assassinated for protecting their territories.

A comprehensive publication accompanying the exhibition will be presented in the coming weeks. The volume offers an extensive overview of the Mariotti – Luy Archive alongside original scholarly contributions along with documentary materials. In addition to Lopez and Mariátegui, the publication features contributions by Giuliana Vidarte, Emilia Curatola, Almendra Otta, Mijail Mitrovic, and Gustavo Buntinx.

THINKING IS A HYBRID GARDEN invites us to reconsider the relationships between art, technology, and society, proposing new forms of coexistence between nature and machine, and between memory and collective creation. The exhibition aims to open a space for reflection and future possibilities, where artistic experimentation becomes a tool for imagining new ways of inhabiting the world and fostering more sensitive, collaborative, and sustainable connections.

The project has been supported by Pro Helvetia. 

For more information: https://mali.pe/es/exhibition/el-pensamiento-es-un-jardin-hibrido-el-archivo-mariotti-luy-1964-2024/ 

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