The New Empire

The solo exhibition “The New Empire” is a lecture on sustainability and the importance of the plants around us and photographic practices, curated by Julie Bonzon and artist Ioana Cîrlig.

Captured in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Greece, this collection of images is part of an ongoing investigation by Romanian photographer Ioana Cîrlig, which began in 2017. Initially a personal exploration of her relationship with nature – prompted by her move to a remote forest after years in bustling city metropoles – Cîrlig’s photographic journey evolved into a broader inquiry into humanity’s connection with the Earth. Cîrlig embarked on a poetic quest, documenting national parks, botanical gardens, forests, and beaches, as well as scientists struggling to preserve and slow the rapid decline of the biosphere and the resilience of plants to adapt and fight for survival amidst plastic waste. Her documentary approach gradually shifted, incorporating apocalyptic landscapes and fantastical flowers, blurring the line between fact and fiction. While engaging with themes central to science fiction – environmental collapse, control, colonization, and the Anthropocene – Cîrlig’s images reflect the unsettling realities and essential questions shaping our present world. Should the Earth become inhospitable to human life, might plants evolve and mutate to reclaim it, restoring humanity to its rightful place within the vast scale of the universe? Faced with imminent extinction, will humans seek new planets to conquer, inhabit, and tame? Does humanity’s imperial mindset toward Earth and future worlds ultimately lead to its downfall? Exhibited together for the first time, Cîrlig’s diverse images converge into a powerful reflection on the most urgent challenge of our time: the rapid escalation of climate destruction, while evoking speculative futures of space exploration and nature’s magical and untapped power.

Welcome to what might be.
Welcome to The New Empire

This project is co-financed by the Sector 6 City Hall, as part of the Culture 2024 Program. The content of this material does not necessarily represent the official position of the Funding Authority/ Proiectul este co-finanțat de Primăria Sectorului 6, în cadrul Programului Cultura 2024” Conţinutul acestui material nu reprezintă în mod necesar poziţia oficială a Autorității finanțatoare. Pentru informații detaliate despre programul de finanțare al Primăriei Sectorului 6 al Municipiului Bucuresti, puteți accesa www.primarie6.ro

Partner: Scena9
Credit graphic design: Anamaria Grigor
Muzică- Cosmin Postolache
Video- Ioana Cîrlig