STUDIO: Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits in Mannheim – Seeing Plants Anew


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When Plants Teach Vision: Solarceptors in the Kunsthalle Mannheim
How do flowers perceive their environment? The exhibition STUDIO: Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits at the Kunsthalle Mannheim transforms scientific insights about plant perception into an immersive artistic experience. On November 11, 2026, visitors encounter a world of virtual reality, projection, light, and ecological imagination in the work Solarceptors.
An Immersive Installation Between Art and Research
Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits combine media art, scientific research, and aesthetic experience. A virtual reality installation and an accompanying projection make plants experienceable as sensitive beings. Light, digital image spaces, and planetary rhythms shape the exhibition atmosphere and shift the usual perspective on nature and perception.
Solarceptors: Plants as Autonomous Perceivers
At the center lies the question of how plants register light, respond to their environment, and connect with the cycles of our planet. The contemplation of the works extends beyond mere scientific observation. Solarceptors develops a poetic form of science art in which ecological connections become physically and sensually experienceable.
Media Art with Ecological Awareness
The Latvian artists work in Basel and Riga at the intersection of art, technology, ecology, and perception. Their art form combines installation, projection, virtual reality, and sound into reflected image worlds. The artistic practice is set in the context of contemporary media art, which links technical innovation with questions of climate change, forms of life, and planetary responsibility.
Curating Under the Sign of Imagine Futures!
The presentation is created in cooperation with the 75th International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg and is part of the anniversary program Imagine Futures!. Curator Julia-Katharina Thiemann and curatorial assistant Alessia Tardivo implement a project that connects contemporary art, cultural education, and future questions. The future here does not appear as a technological vision but as a new way of seeing.
An Artistic Experience in the Kunsthalle Mannheim
The STUDIO of the Kunsthalle Mannheim offers a focused frame for the installation. Between projection, digital space, and quiet reflection, an intense aesthetic experience emerges. Visitors leave the familiar human perspective and experience plants as active participants in a shared environment.
Conclusion: STUDIO: Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits promises a compelling artistic experience for all who are interested in contemporary art, media art, ecological issues, and cultural education. Anyone wanting to experience light, life, and the future from an unfamiliar perspective should definitely visit the exhibition live at the Kunsthalle Mannheim.
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- Website: https://smitesmits.com/works.html










