Revista ARTA

"The Anthropocene is the name scientists have given to the current geological epoch, the result of a globalized economic system geared toward unlimited accumulation, colonization, and the depletion of all bodies. This is the real story, the common thread linking the past to the present and the future. In this context, what kinds of strategies and mechanisms can we employ to manage anxiety, trauma, and loss, to foster solidarity among depleted bodies, and perhaps prevent disaster?"

In her debut text for our magazine, Mihaela Cîrjan reflects on Adrian Preda’s exhibition "SIZE & SCALE", tracing a sharp connection between ecological collapse, capitalist expansion, and speculative futures. Moving between science, dystopia, and artistic research, the text unfolds a critical view on how we imagine and inhabit what comes next.

Adrian Preda: Size & Scale. On the Urgency of Dystopia In such a setting, I imagined myself visiting the exhibition as an alien or a person from a more or less distant future.

"A smooth song with fast lyrics, and heads of delivery guys spinning from the smiling face at the doorstep to the exhaustion from and anger about their sh*tty jobs. Just one order, open the phone and… become part of this evil spiral. s.a.b.a.’s music video draws you into the world of bicycles whirling through the cities to drop food, while in Sneha’s song the lyrics seem to fast to even grasp anything but the eponymous Cola and the Chips. The steady rhythm soothes you while the drivers go crazy. And the video leaves the choice open on whether you really want to order food – or rather think about the gig economy."

In his text, Maximilian Lehner reflects on Cola and the Chips, the music video by s.a.b.a., presented at ElectroPutere Gallery as a subtle yet sharp commentary on the gig economy. Moving between everyday scenes and philosophical inquiry, the text unpacks the tensions between comfort, exploitation, and moral ambiguity embedded in contemporary systems of labor.

Cola and the Chips An essay on a short experimental music video by s.a.b.a. and Sneha.