Reconnection &
Ecology of The Afterlife
Aurora Király
Accept All
Happiness from Me
Ioana Cîrlig
The Influx platform brings together two interconnected projects by Aurora Király: RECONNECTION (2015-2016) and the more recent ECOLOGY OF THE AFTERLIFE (2022). Both works engage with the regenerative aspects of nature, exploring its ongoing cycles of transformation.
In Reconnection (2015-2016), the photographs were captured during a walk through the forest near the village of Varatec, Romania. The images evoke a sense of deliberate staging, as if a hidden figure orchestrates the scenes. Yet, the photos are just the result of keen observation. These images remind us to pay attention to what we see and feel, in the moment, being open to the hidden, the uncanny, and the unexpected. Presented in wooden cases, each print is paired with glass etched with fragments of words that occurred into the artist’s mind during the walk. These subtle inscriptions serve as quiet, poetic links to subconscious reflections—offering a subtle thread on how internal thought anchor into reality.
Ecology of the Afterlife (2022) acts as a metaphor for life’s resilience, extending beyond human existence to consider all forms of life that contribute to the planet’s continuity. It reflects on nature’s capacity to adapt to increasingly hostile conditions driven by environmental shifts and climate change. The project deepens this meditation, situating its photographs within cemeteries across various cities and countries. These liminal spaces naturally prompt philosophical contemplation on life, death, and renewal. The project engages with the idea of transformation and regeneration beyond the decay of organic matter—inviting viewers to reflect on the complex interrelationships among plants, bodies, and organisms that participate in this endless cycle of life.
The images are part of the ACCEPT ALL HAPPINESS FROM ME project – a personal journey through nature that I began in 2017 and has since taken many forms, along with my own relationship with the environment.
At the heart of the project lies the idea of home.
Accept All Happiness From Me is still a work in progress, and I imagine it always will be, as it expands in all sorts of directions, keeping pace with my experiences. That’s how a few chapters have taken shape.
I curiously began to research botanical gardens, and then I started looking for rare species in nature and pondering the idea of wilderness and what that might mean at this time. In nature I found trash everywhere, and to stay sane I sought hope and found a glimpse of it by observing how young plants use plastic, if not too much. The last chapter is a sort of imagined future, where flowers are phosphorescent and increasingly efficient, where we’ve managed to make them grow tall and shiny, fields are on fire, and what’s left of nature is organized in order to lay the foundations for self-sufficient human habitats in space colonies.
Romanian Contemporary Photography INFLUX – Looking Back to the Future
This joint presentation has been made possible through the “Looking Back to the Future” project. Beside including new project and article commissions, it’s main goal is to provides a bird’s eye view on the use of photography in the Romanian art scene spanning across the last three decades (and beyond). By showcasing texts, publications and exhibitions of relevancy in the this (not so) recent history, we can outline the development of this medium, highlighting the major transformations and trends that have defined the Romanian photographic expression.
This project was co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration (AFCN). It does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration and AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or for how the project results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding beneficiary.
Aurora Király is an artist working with photography and installation in a variety of media, at the intersection of photography with textile art, drawing or installations. She recently took part in art residencies such as at Kunsthalle Mulhouse (2024) or the Boghossian Foundation at Villa Empain, in Brussels (2022). Aurora Király explores how the mind records, relives, remembers. She is particularly interested in exploring feminist theories in relation with identity-making and the status of women in society. Her works relates to complex connections between events, public and private sphere of experience. Her works are in collections such as The National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucharest, European Parliament’s Contemporary Art Collection and private collections in Europe and North America.
Ioana Cîrlig was born in was born in Bucharest, and has been taking photographs for around 20 years. Initially working as a photojournalist, she then switched to documentary and, more recently, her practice has become rather a fusion of the two.
In 2016 she co-founded the Center for Documentary Photography, where she developed and carried out projects for four years. Afterwards she likewise co-founded the artist collective FOC! – a group and space exploring human relationships with nature, science and research, resource dynamics in society, and other stories that help us understand our world.
Since 2018 she has also been collaborating with Scena9 magazine as photo editor.