Floria Tosca’s ‘Future Pagan’ is an exhibition where art, science, and theology converge in a philosophical undertaking that nods to the Enlightenment, yet focuses our attention on our contemporary milieu. To enter the world of Floria Tosca is to travel back in time whilst being hurled into the future and simultaneously reflecting upon the now.

Tosca’s body of work probes the mire of Artificial Intelligence, which is heralding a new age of technological advancement. She questions the cost benefits of AI bought into a world obsessed with evolutionary development and improvement. Within this context, the artist reconceptualizes the cabinet of curiosity—Wunderkammer. In Tosca’s cabinet, strange and exquisite imagery draws on the sacrosanctity of Earthmother, who rails against contemporary anxieties of the climate crisis and the invasion of intuitive technologies.

Tosca’s work reinforces the vitality and immutability of nature, returning to ancient civilisations who rooted their faith in terrestrial totems, as opposed to dogmatic script. In her detailing of nature’s forms, the artist nods at the study of medicine, which has historically resided at a crossroads between art and science. Tosca’s understanding of anatomical function and structure reinforces her meticulous artistic process. Her clarity of line reminds us of DaVinci’s secret investigations into the human body (circa 1500). And yet, a profoundly earth-ritualistic aesthetic pervades each of her individual pieces.

For Tosca, nature soothes her connection to the physical world. She notes, “This body of work is my imaginary museum of objects from a future culture that has returned to the ancient worship of nature.”

‘Future Pagan’ acknowledges and celebrates the artist’s role in bringing a sense of ‘otherness’ to an otherwise rational world. The accuracy of her drawing morphs into dada-esque compositions. Mixed media lifts the dimensionality of the drawing-based works, as hand-blown glass ornaments connote nature’s peculiar yet marvellous designs. By collaging these images into fascinating assemblages, Tosca brings to light the eclipse of a purist conception of nature with new aesthetics of animation, generative and AI art.

Ralph Hobbs
Lana Hoffman
May 2023