@Calea Victoriei 91-93 Gallery
- Opening: November 19, 7:00 PM (ora 19.00)
- On View: November 19 – November 30, 2025
- Moderators: Silvia Stoica and Andrei Fasie
“Safety First! – The Aftermath” is the second reincarnation of the “Safety First!” modular installation, created by visual artist Roxana Donaldson in 2025. The installation was first exhibited in June of this year at DalgART, and is now re-orchestrated in its current form at Calea Victoriei 91-93 Gallery in November 2025, with the addition of new pieces and a different configuration.
The exhibition, presented by Silvia Stoica and Andrei Fasie, is by no means an invitation into a “safe space,” but rather a direct confrontation for the viewer with a critical analysis of the paradox of security in the context of contemporary society. Exploring the illusory nature of concepts like comfort and well-being, which are so widely circulated today, the installation functions as a complex map of the human psyche under the pressure of anxiety and the fear of pain.
Operating at the intersection of Conceptual Art (primacy of the idea and the diagram), Immersive Installation (transforming the space into a systemic experience of anxiety), and Process Art (emphasis on abrasive materials and temporal tension, similar to Arte Povera), “The Aftermath” serially materializes an Invasion of Spheres, Protective Diagrams, Failed Schematics, and Impossible X-Rays, each representing possible paradigms of Metastasized Fear.
The over 100 black spheres, covered with needles, wire, and rusted coins, dominate the space. They describe an anatomy of aggressive defense, a cellular or viral proliferation of fear, transforming anxiety from a subject of contemplation into a state that has metastasized. Starting from Malevich’s “Black Square,” here seen as a symbol of limitation and and isolation, the installation develops on multiple planes. The black square is replaced by a multitude of black spheres, accompanied by technical diagrams that illustrate the failure of rational tools in the face of the fluid nature of emotion and memory.
The Imperfect X-Rays series functions as a schematic for the bodily anchoring of concentrated vulnerability. It moves from layered black to red (Enlarged Image of a Protective Membrane) and to multicolor (Black Breast on a Pillow), in a visceral juxtaposition. The breast, a symbol of primary safety, is sick and black, placed on the pillow of rest. The illusion of security cannot withstand an emotional X-ray.
Roxana Donaldson urges the viewer to question their own defense mechanisms and acknowledge the uncomfortable truth that the greatest prison is often the one we design ourselves. Caught between failed schematics and diagrams of protection, between healing rituals and imperfect X-rays of emotion, the visitor to “The Aftermath” installation is invited to interact with the works as they would with their own fear, to deconstruct their defense mechanisms, and, perhaps, to find their own path to liberation.
roxanadonaldson.ro 