Euphrates Rising

Religious and societal imprints are Cziraki’s main interest for creating works. Both have shaped our modern psyche and natural world, transforming them, evolving them and sometimes destroying them. His goal is to use the power of expression to create new associations between society, religion, and nature. Mesopotamia is labeled as one of the cradles of civilization. The evolutions of society and civilization have left their imprint on the environments that surround them. Euphrates Rising is a work constructed using water samples from the Hudson River located near Manhattan. The water was processed in order to isolate and culture bacteria present within said sample on nutrient agar plates. Various antibiotics were administered to growing cultures, such that natural resistance could be inferred.

Media Used: Hudson River Water sample, Digital print of sample cultured on nutrient agar plates.

Andrew Cziraki is a Manhattan based artist who earned his BFA at the School of Visual Arts. Previously he constructed visual art in a traditional manner, but once attending SVA he began transitioning into many different mediums such as, sound, video, scientific experimentation and technological art. His work focuses on a theme of the imprints of humanity left on physical or psychological environments. These themes relate to subconscious and conscious excrement discarded by the human organism. Most recent works deal with religion and the interaction with society and the individual.