Dark Forest is a duo exhibition presenting for the first time in Madrid new works by Estefanía B. Flores (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and Francesco Pacelli (Milan). This exhibition marks the first collaboration between curators Amina Berdin and Jorge Van den Eynde.
The exhibition embodies the concept of the Dark Forest to explore two seemingly opposite forces: magic and technology. The Dark Forest is a recent expression introduced by science fiction writer Liu Cixin in his trilogy The Three-Body Problem. In this prophetic work, Cixin creates a metaphor suggesting that Earth, considering itself the center of light and life, seeks connections within an apparently silent and cold universe. This universe, like a forest at night, is populated by creatures that remain hidden, blending into the darkness to avoid possible predators. Today, in the current digital debate, the Dark Forest refers to all those informal and untraceable digital practices that create private yet inclusive spaces as a form of resistance against bots, algorithms, and other forms of surveillance. Concealment is integral to this concept and closely related to the way magic has often manifested itself: in darkness, away from the mainstream, cautiously sharing knowledge with only a few select members. Needless to say, historically, “the occult” was often used as a synonym for magic, and secrecy provided the ideal conditions for enchantments, alchemical experiments, and invocations. Our history has always unfolded without acknowledging the practitioners who dwell in the shadows. Like the silent creatures moving stealthily through the forest, these virtual and magical practices operate covertly, protecting the communities that inhabit these spaces. The exhibition space itself is conceived as a Dark Forest, where the works of Estefanía B. Flores and Francesco Pacelli delve into the mysteries and secrets of magic and technology. A small corner or cavity deep within the forest to evoke spaces of digital coexistence and the linguistic, visual, and material forms through which magic operates and transforms reality and our perception of the world.
Dark Forest received support from the Contemporary Creation Grants of Madrid City Council, a Europe Culture Moves grant from Creative Europe and Goethe-Institut, and a PICE grant from Acción Cultural Española.
Digital production: Alberto Custodia Martínez.
Production assistant: Noé Pulviac.
Documentation: Goro Studio.
Curatorial text: Read here.
Dark Forest is a duo exhibition presenting for the first time in Madrid new works by Estefanía B. Flores (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and Francesco Pacelli (Milan). This exhibition marks the first collaboration between curators Amina Berdin and Jorge Van den Eynde.
The exhibition embodies the concept of the Dark Forest to explore two seemingly opposite forces: magic and technology. The Dark Forest is a recent expression introduced by science fiction writer Liu Cixin in his trilogy The Three-Body Problem. In this prophetic work, Cixin creates a metaphor suggesting that Earth, considering itself the center of light and life, seeks connections within an apparently silent and cold universe. This universe, like a forest at night, is populated by creatures that remain hidden, blending into the darkness to avoid possible predators. Today, in the current digital debate, the Dark Forest refers to all those informal and untraceable digital practices that create private yet inclusive spaces as a form of resistance against bots, algorithms, and other forms of surveillance. Concealment is integral to this concept and closely related to the way magic has often manifested itself: in darkness, away from the mainstream, cautiously sharing knowledge with only a few select members. Needless to say, historically, “the occult” was often used as a synonym for magic, and secrecy provided the ideal conditions for enchantments, alchemical experiments, and invocations. Our history has always unfolded without acknowledging the practitioners who dwell in the shadows. Like the silent creatures moving stealthily through the forest, these virtual and magical practices operate covertly, protecting the communities that inhabit these spaces. The exhibition space itself is conceived as a Dark Forest, where the works of Estefanía B. Flores and Francesco Pacelli delve into the mysteries and secrets of magic and technology. A small corner or cavity deep within the forest to evoke spaces of digital coexistence and the linguistic, visual, and material forms through which magic operates and transforms reality and our perception of the world.
Dark Forest received support from the Contemporary Creation Grants of Madrid City Council, a Europe Culture Moves grant from Creative Europe and Goethe-Institut, and a PICE grant from Acción Cultural Española.
Digital production: Alberto Custodia Martínez.
Production assistant: Noé Pulviac.
Documentation: Goro Studio.
Curatorial text: Read here.
