Past Present is a long-term artistic research project initiated by Ioana Marinescu and developed through a series of collaborations, taking different forms over time.

In Past Present, memories and archival fragments are activated in the present. Bucharest, Ioana's hometown, is the main protagonist of these intertwined stories. The central area of the city, demolished in the 1980s, continues to live on through an archive of photographs, testimonies and memory drawings, brought to life through live readings, performative actions (Past Present, 2015–2018) and public installations in the city (Billboard, 2017; Hill. Reenactment, 2024).

Alongside these archives of loss, personal memories of birth (Gravid, 2018) inhabit UCL's large portico space, while a series of choreographed actions – developed in collaboration with Smaranda Găbudeanu and Iulia Mărăcine – connect us to the Pompeii plaster casts (as if asleep…, 2022).

Documentary filmmaker Laurențiu Calciu has followed our work with both discretion and a sharp eye. Our collaboration with architect and artist-maker Thomas Goodey has brought to life unexpected relationships between bodies, topography and materials, helping to reveal the idea of negative space as a holder of memory.

Past Present is an ongoing project, taking on new forms with each iteration.

Special thanks to the former inhabitants of the demolished districts who shared their stories and to all those who trusted us and helped along the way, especially Hayley Newman, Naomi Siderfin, Sorina Jecza, Carmen Zmaranda, and Raymond Bobar.

Projects have been supported by the Slade School of Fine Art (2015–2022), Beaconsfield (2021–2023), and PETEC – The Books and Theatre Association (2022–2024).

All content on this website is protected by copyright.

All images are © Ioana Marinescu unless otherwise credited.

Website design: Raymond Bobar

Contact: mail@ioanamarinescu.com