Nessuno
In the light of a pandemic and a global environmental and humanitarian crisis, Nessuno (Italian: nobody, none) presents the human trace as scarce, marginalized, and entrapped; that of an endangered species. The work deals with the expectation and deprivation of human interaction. The physical void and the risk at stake become more pronounced when perceived through the eyes and heart of a child. It is implied that there is imminent danger that will come (or has come?) as punishment for human ignorance and the neglect of the environment and of each other. Indeed, neuroscience explains that the human brain is tuned to process the local and immediate but fails to grasp more global and long-term issues. Having said that, we are super-social animals; This craving for interaction and expression may be the driving force for a fast-track, cultural evolution. For us to beat natural selection, we need to bridge the gap between reality and awareness, between crisis and resolution.
Lefkothea-Vasiliki Andreou (GR/GB)
She is an artist, an academic and an awarded scientist (Rookie Judge award, iGEM 2021). Besides her teaching and research work, she is profoundly interested in science communication and public speaking in the context of festivals and TEDx platforms. She has authored an academic book on how to teach Biology to the Generation Z. Since 2017, she has had a steady presence as a video artist. Most notably, she initiated and project-managed a collaboration, the first of its kind, of her home Department of Biological Applications & Technology, the School of Fine Arts, University of Ioannina, the Municipality of Ioannina, and Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF). Her work ellipsis has been projected at the Now & After International Video Art Festival 2019, Center of Creative Industries Fabrica, Moscow. In 2021, she was honoured to be awarded a Dana/FENS Brain Awareness Week grant for an event she designed and directed, which involved performances, entitled “How Does the Brain Shape Reality? The Jennifer Aniston Neuron and Other Adventures”. Her piece VOYAGE is part of the permanent Collection Digitopia of ADAF ONLINE, also part of the 2020 exhibition Let’s Get Phygital at Ermou street.