Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art . Vela Luka; grey) (area - space of contemporary and media art . Korčula; DECro - Digital Exchange Croatia . Zagreb present The Visual Collider by Nina Czegledy and Marcus Neustetter :: September 19 - October 10, 2009 :: Opening: September 18; 8:00 pm :: Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cultural Centre of Vela Luka, Obala 3/9 . 20270 Vela Luka . Croatia.

On September 10, 2008, billions of particles were smashed together in nano-seconds to recreate the first moments of the Big Bang, in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. Thousands of scientists worked for decades to achieve this scientific spectacle challenging those who seek confirmation of established knowledge, and those who dare to dream beyond the paradigm.

Nina Czegledy and Marcus Neustetter were so inspired by a lecture on the LHC that while they had already deliberated and tested project ideas for several months, they immediately adopted a fresh approach, which led to The Visual Collider.

For the first exhibited manifestation of The Visual Collider, Nina Czegledy and Marcus Neustetter are presenting a small segment of their larger vision of an ongoing collision of images and impressions that take place with each experience by both artists. In some sense, the exhibition in Korcula becomes a sketch for a Visual Collider that, much like the LHC, can produce data through reaction, some of which is measured and some of which we are not able to comprehend or express.

Artist statement:

At the actual Collider every function including research, development and production, is based on principles and systems. In contrast our method is spontaneous, immediate and intentionally unsystematic.Nevertheless there are significant junctures. LHC is an immense scientific venture – our deep interest in the intersection of arts, science and technology is one of the crossover points. While in the sciences it is prudent to build on fundamental facts with analytical precision, in reality these investigations are often permeated with the exploration of the unknown, reaching unexpected revelations. In our practice working with the bizarre, traveling towards unpredictable destinations is a regular pursuit. In science a negative experimental result might become as valid as an expected outcome.

These unexpected results including happy accidents often lead to significant alternate solutions or theories.Our adjacent images presented in this exhibition reveal unconventional interpretations frequently through unforeseen collisions. By employing a personal approach to the Visual Collider we challenge mega-projects such as the actual LHC, asking atypical questions concerning the experimental smashing together of information whether in the form of photographic light or protons.

For several years, we have been involved in high-tech experimentation in the virtual and the physical world. These days however, -similarly to many others, – we feel that there is a certain validity in a low-tech approach. This project differs very much from most of our work where we seek to evoke the sublime.

In the “Visual Collider” we present raw, spontaneous records that reflect more a momentary involvement that is simply juxtaposed with another. With this we make use of everyday experiences, experimenting with commonplace objects and situations. While the scale differs, our act of snatching and smashing these moments together is not unlike the Hadron Collider colliding myriad of particles in fractions of seconds.

The Visual Collider image sets (derived from our own source material) traverse cultural, political and personal boundaries suggesting different connotations. During the journey we cross time and space, bracketing generations and spanning continents in a never-ending conceptual loop. In the process of the juxtaposition of ideas and images we invite the viewers to develop their own hypothesis, their own Collider of the project.