Synaptic Reveries

Manja Ristić and Mario Kolarić have collaborated numerous times in the field of experimental audio-visual arts, including performative interventions, exhibition works, and digital releases. Their new collaboration is symbolically inspired by the synaptic space — a scientific model of synapse function where "communication" between two neurons occurs, a space for information exchange essential for most subsequent functions of the nervous system. Ultimately, the context of their work relies on the concept of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who extensively studied the state of ataraxia — a state of lucid calmness. This complex ancient philosophical concept has various interpretations, and "Synaptic Reveries" aligns with those that bring mental-emotional balance and support sensory ecologies opposing the cacophony of everyday life, informational saturation, and the commercialization of human perception and attention.

Their collaborative work "Synaptic Reveries" aims to create an audio-visual piece that generates a sensory experience, counteracting the robust auditory and visual saturation of daily life. Additionally, it addresses the potential of audio-visual installations in working with neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive individuals and explores the sensorial qualities of minimalism in inter-media artistic practice.

"Synaptic Reveries" contribute to the anxious discourse about the Anthropocene, highlighting the importance of sensorial and spatial ecology and questioning what interspecies interaction—and even further, human-technological interactivity based on daily artificial intelligence use—brings to the "space" of exchange, and more importantly, what it leaves behind.