Home > Kunstenaars

lea novi

sociaal-maatschappelijk, samenwerking, installatie, Geluid, fotografie, Educatie, Ecologie, Documentair, Community, collage, Archieven

I am an interdisciplinary artist mainly working with the photographic medium which I combine with audio, text and video. My work revolves around how complex questions of climate change can be communicated through visual storytelling. In my work I seek to find ways to encourage more empathetic relationships to our ecological surroundings. Ecology and extinction, ecological interdependence and interconnectivity and the human impact on the environment are recurring themes in my artistic practice. Intimately related to this, I am strongly interested in the psychological and emotional effects of climate change, both on a personal and artistic level. Ever since I was a kid, I have experienced emotional states of 'eco-anxiety' which refers to the “chronic fear of suffering an environmental cataclysm”. The exploitation of animals and plants by humans and systems of industrialism touches me deeply and values ​​of ecological justice have become a strong motivating force in my artistic practice. The main purpose of my artistic path is to increase our capacity for compassion for other-than-human beings and I believe storytelling is a fundamental part of improving this emotional capacity.

Traces of Return
Traces of Return - This project is an experimental photographic series created in the Food Forest in Rotterdam. I photographed plants within the forest, printed the images on paper, and returned the prints to the exact locations where I had originally taken the photographs. The printed photographs were left outdoors in the forest for an extended period of time. During this time, natural processes and organisms interacted with the paper: a snail, for example, left bite marks and traces of its passage, while another sheet showed the imprint of fungi. Afterward, I collected and scanned the altered prints, preserving their transformed state. The project explores the dialogue between image and environment. By reintroducing the photographs into their natural setting, the forest itself became a collaborator in reshaping the images. The process highlights impermanence, fragility, and the agency of nature.
Floral Encounter (working title)
Floral Encounter (working title) - Floral Encounter (ongoing project) is a project that explores communication, exchange, and coexistence between plants and other life forms in the ecological setting of the Food Forest in Rotterdam. This permaculture garden mimics natural forest ecosystems, creating a multilayered web of plants, fungi, microorganisms, and humans. In a world shaped by ecological crisis, I feel an urgent need to shift our perception of nature, from passive resource to active participant. Floral Encounter stems from eco-anxiety and a desire to relate to plants as perceptive beings with agency and the capacity for interaction. My active involvement in the Food Forest through volunteering and guiding tours provides the social and embodied foundation for this work. The conceptual framework of the project is shaped by readings and critical theory. Anna Tsing describes ecological systems as polyphony, multi-voiced fabrics of relation. James Bridle calls for an expanded understanding of intelligence, grounded in his concept of the Umwelt, which attributes perceptual worlds to all living beings. Donna Haraway encourages to think of life as becoming-with, a multispecies process of entanglement, responsibility and imagination. The core questions: How do plants live and communicate? - guide a process of mindful observation and research into mycorrhizal networks, chemical communication, and plant intelligence. I translate the perspective, which often remain hidden to the human eye into visual works: macro photography, experimental collages, textile prints and clay frames. The project is a dialogical between humans and plants, between scientific knowledge and artistic interpretation. It invites to deepen our understanding of plant life and to awaken a greater empathy for living beings.
Somewhere Else is Closer than You Think
Somewhere Else is Closer than You Think - In my project Somewhere Else is Closer Than You Think I address the human impact on the environment through visual storytelling, by focusing on the former largest glaciers in Germany. The project addresses climate change by focusing on the ecological transformation of the ecosystem of the mountain Zugspitze, located in Germany. This project found form in an installation including photographs, archival images, collages, audio pieces, a video, zines and workshops sessions revolving around ecology. The inspiration for this project came from my travels to the mountain Zugspitze ever since I was child. This trip to the top of the mountain is a family tradition undertaken by my great-grandmother and grandfather. In the Summer of 2022, I was very surprised to encounter a butterfly at this altitude. Such high altitudes are very unusual for butterflies, as it is actually too cold for them and there is hardly any food. This encounter sparked the beginning of my project. I took frequent hikes, trying to see the mountain as a being, interviewed scientists and visited residents of the region. Through that I gained an understanding of the strong transformation of the ecosystem. I started identifying certain characters for my story: the path of the water, perspectives of scientists, the touristic company, a former extreme hiker and the migrating butterfly. Realizations of the changing ecosystem have led me to create fictional collages that reflect my idea of ​​how the ecosystem will change. For the text layer, I collaborated with artist Julia Wilhelm, who wrote an experimental poetic text based on my research for each character.
Attitudes of Elements
Attitudes of Elements - The project arose out of a collaboration with Creative Court and the organization International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM). IDUM reported the fact that several million tons of munitions were lying in the sea. As a person born and raised in Germany, I was shocked to learn how many bombs from the Second World War were dumped in the North Sea and have been rusting there for years, already leaking hazardous substances. This made me concerned about the current and future impact on the flora and fauna. I researched the effects of munitions on flora and fauna by studying scientific documents and interviewing marine biologists. For the visualization of the project, I created collages in which I combined cyanotypes and photographs - a fictional interpretation with which I visualized algae mutated by pollutants. I have combined the resulting images with macro shots of algae and staged photographs of scientific objects. From my collected research, I wrote a text that I developed into a sound piece.
My Dear Friend Sam
My Dear Friend Sam - In April 2021, a street dog in Izmir named Sam drew attention on social media for traveling around the city by public transport including ferry, cab, train and metro. His actions came at the right time for a political fight for better animal welfare in the city. Based on this true story, the project takes the perspective of Sam by tracing his journey through Izmir and observing the social and political structures of the city. The project is a collaboration with Daniel Chatard and Ben Yau.
Behind Two Big Trees
Behind Two Big Trees - Behind Two Big Trees is a collaborative project with the Cultururwerkplaats Tarwewijk community. Community members were invited to create playful installations using everyday objects of this place. The resulting photographs not only capture the outcomes of this collaboration but also showcase the creative possibilities and vibrant potential of the Cultururwerkplaats, inviting the public to engage with the space in imaginative ways.

open studios // GRAW Rotterdam

Datum:
Locatie: Teilingerstraat 120 (Ex Time Window)
In samenwerking met: Cecile/CQC, YP Wang, Ines Certo, VIDEO BOY + KTONIOS + PIETRO

So habe ich es noch nie gesehen

Datum:
Locatie: DONNER, wie Blitz
In samenwerking met: Pezi Novi

The exhibition "So habe ich es noch nie gesehen" presents our artistic engagement with ecological networks. It explores how these entanglements can open up new perspectives and challenge linear thinking.

Fiction(al) writing playground

Datum:
Locatie: Some other Space, Struitenweg 52, 3082 WX Rotterdam
In samenwerking met: Rosa Zangenberg and Some other Space

Fiction(al) Writing Playground is a collaborative space created by Rosa and Lea, which is rooted in a shared belief in writing as a creative method to reflect on and deepen our artistic practices.
During South Explorer Rotterdam we transformed Some Other Space into a cozy and welcoming environment that invited visitors to imagine, write, and share stories. Participants were encouraged to bring an object, real or abstract, that holds a memory they wished to preserve or reinterpret. The space off

https://sos.nospace.at/2025-fictonal-writing-playground/

about A woman

Datum:
Locatie: studio 2 de Doelen Art Schouwburgplein 57, Rotterdam
In samenwerking met: about A woman

IN YOUR FACE 2.0 was a group exhibition featuring 120 works by various female visual artists from Rotterdam, with the aim of drawing attention to the position and visibility of women in the arts.

https://aboutawoman.nl/INYOURFACE_2

Talent Embassy (Fotodok Utrecht)

Datum:
Locatie: Fotodok Utrecht, Fotfestiwal Lodz
In samenwerking met: Fotodok Utrecht
https://www.fotodok.org/en/this-is-talent-embassy-2025/

Femfest

Datum:
Locatie: Worm
In samenwerking met: Worm Radio, Radio Echo

For Fem Fest, Radio Echo invites Rotterdam based feminist initiatives & radiomakers to create radio content for the WORM Radio station. Radio Echo decided to make this an open curatorial experiment by collective co-creation in stead of making their own selection.

https://worm.org/production/fem-fest-2024-radio-echo-x-radio-worm-present-feminist-frequencies/

In Times Of Trouble We Dream With Open Eyes

Datum:
Locatie: Grey Space

The artist-led exhibition 𝘐𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘺𝘦𝘴 presents our artworks and processes. In times of trouble, when many people are living precariously, disillusioned by political life, the notion of dreaming can be a provocative one. It can be argued that dreaming is associated with the increasing spread of unfounded conspiracy theories. Rather more subtly, dreaming can suggest an escapism from reality. But far from abandoning the imaginative.

https://thegreyspace.net/program/2023-10-12-in-times-of-trouble-we-dream-with-open-eyes/

Tooling Shapes Open Workshop

Datum:
Locatie: Ijzerblock
In samenwerking met: Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend, Julia Wilhelm

The ongoing, collaborative project Somewhere Else is Closer Than You Think explores the fragile Alpine ecosystem of the mountain Zugspitze through the lens of five different characters using photography and creative writing as media.

Next to showing parts of the project, we are inviting you to join us for an informal drop-in workshop on recrafting tools. Climbing tools play an important role in the project, as an extension of the human body that allows one to make it upwards towards the peak,

https://www.grootrotterdamsatelierweekend.nl/locaties/ijzerblok/

Lighthouse Talent program

Datum:
Locatie: Fotodok
In samenwerking met: Fotodok

FOTODOK’s talent program Lighthouse offers emerging photographers the chance to get support and inspiration, develop a new project plan, and valuable connections in the work field.

https://www.fotodok.org/lighthouse-edition-5-2023-24/

Unstil

Datum:
Locatie: KABK

"Unstill," is the graduation show of the Master Program Photography and Society 2023.

https://graduation.kabk.nl/2023/lea-novi
Deze kunstenaar heeft nog geen toekenningen.