Come to Life. Pompeii 79 AD – Tomorrow #1, #2, #3

Marzia Migliora’s works are conceived as a meditation on how life develops further, changes, and attains meaning—even when it seems to be absent. For the exhibition Seeds. Reclaiming Roots, Sowing Futures curated by Sophie Haslinger – at the KunstHausWien, Vienna, as part of the Klima Biennale Wien, Vienna – the artist has created three new works: drawing on large-format photographs, from the from the ‘Annamaria Ciarallo’ Laboratory of Applied Research at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, their titles implying a leap in time—from the volcanic eruption of Pompeii in 79 AD through to a life of tomorrow, perhaps even after us, epitomized by the petrified seeds of walnuts, broad beans, and grains. Buried under ash for almost two thousand years, these seeds were found during archaeological excavations at Pompeii. The photographic magnification gives them a sculptural look. But it is not only the shift in scale that undermines the aesthetic of scientific representation: the seeds sprout (Germination) pictorially—inspired by so-called dormancy, the intrinsic capacity of seeds to germinate first after a dormant phase, enabling them to utilize optimal growing conditions. The imagined dormancy becomes a metaphor for possible processes of ecological transformation: What remains latent? What can continue to thrive?