Museum of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge
2023
Interdisciplinary Framework: PAROS Creatives
Two-women exhibition with Cat Vitebsky (sculpture)
Topos Embodied was developed through PAROS Creatives, a female-led interdisciplinary art initiative founded in 2019 by mixed-media artist Justyna Borucka and sculptor Cat Vitebsky.
Working between Greece, the US and the UK, the initiative created a research-based platform connecting artistic practice with geological, ecological and cultural inquiry centered on the Parian marble quarry and its surrounding landscape.
While artist-led, the project unfolded in sustained dialogue with invited specialists, including geologist Maria Birmpili, sociologist Moshoula Capous-Desyllas, philologist Anastasia Kanli, videographer Vassia Katsirea and ecologist Elena Symeonidou, whose expertise contributed to the intellectual development of the exhibition.
This collaborative structure provided the research infrastructure for the exhibition at the Museum of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge (2023).
Topos Embodied explored the material, geological and cultural histories embedded in marble. The project brought contemporary practice into dialogue with the museum’s cast collection, positioning marble not as inert material but as living geological process shaped by extraction, transformation and time.
Borucka’s works including selections from Paros New Earth and The Atomic Series, reintroduced marble dust collected from Parian quarries into the surface of the works, creating a direct material continuity between landscape, studio and museum.
The Atomic Series (2023)
Marble dust and yarn on raw linen, 60 × 60 cm each
Hydrogen (Υδρογόνο)
Carbon (Άνθρακας)
Nitrogen (Άζωτο)
Oxygen (Οξυγόνο)
Sulphur (Θείο)
Calcium (Ασβέστιο)
In this series, Borucka approaches matter at the molecular scale. The six works function as conceptual distillations of elemental compounds found in Parian marble (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃) and plaster of Paris (calcium sulphate). The inclusion of Nitrogen situates these mineral structures within ecological cycles, linking geological formation to living systems.
As noted by Dr. Susanne Turner, Curator at the Museum of Classical Archaeology, the series reflects a shift from surface aesthetics toward a deeper engagement with material composition and transformation.
Marble dust – from the land to the museum.
Justyna Borucka 