Roots and Routes

The Roots and Routes exhibition is conceived as a single work consisting of three parts, created in collaboration by visual artists Csongor G Szigeti, Daria Langa and Diana Drăgan-Chirilă. Its main theme is the Someșul Mic River and its surroundings in the area of Bánffy Castle in Bonțida, as well as the way in which this natural place has evolved over the centuries and during the communist period, being shaped both by the forces of nature and by the destructive effects of human activity. The exhibition project offers a three-act experience: the Road that takes us through the different historical periods of the area and the changes it has undergone, the Forest – the keeper of forgotten stories, and the River – the thread that nourishes the environment. Together, they recompose and recontextualize the landscape around Bánffy Castle in Bonțida, bringing to light the natural and social history of the place. Walking along the Path / through the Forest / towards the River: The first part offers a spatial visualisation of the river course's evolution over time, starting from the drawing of a 19th-century military map, continuing to its present form, and – with the help of AI technology – to an imagined projection of how it might change in one or two centuries. The visual, spatial construction is complemented by sound effects and a soundscape composed of local recordings of human activities on the banks of the Someș River, interwoven with the sounds of nature: water, insects, birds. The second part digitally creates a forest, a memento for the centuries-old trees surrounding the castle and the river that were cut down during the communist period. Cylindrical digital screens convey the visual perspective and the state of mind of the visitor moving among the trees towards the river. The soundscape consists of recordings of stories told by elderly locals, witnesses to a time when the area was still untouched by organised destruction. It is as if the memory of the trees were whispering, through the voices of the people, the joys and sorrows they had witnessed or even shared. In the third part, the visitor arrives at the riverbank, where an immersive multimedia installation introduces them to the natural habitat of the riverbank and the water, allowing them to see, as if through the eyes of the creatures that live there: birds, frogs, insects, fish. The work recreates a section of the riverbank, from which two screens made of silicone strips are suspended. Extremely slow footage of the natural environment – including underwater footage – is projected onto them. The sound, as slow as the images, supports this vision of a distinct world. The installation aims to draw attention to the local biodiversity and to highlight its ephemeral nature. The exhibition is part of the CO-VISION project, which explores the relationship between humans and nature, with a particular focus on the local significance of the Someșul Mic River. Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. Curator: Diana Drăgan-Chirilă. Scientific support: biologist Zoltán D. Szabó.