Drawing from my personal experiences of growing up in a post-communist country, I am interested in the positionality of various systems, particularly institutions and machinery, as well as their dynamics of power. I primarily work with sculpture, drawing inspiration from memories of factory landscapes and crop fields in my hometown. My themes include estrangement, societal failure, identity, and post-humanism. I have a background in moving image and through my interdisciplinary practice I also create video art that reimagines narratives through the apparatus theory.
In my sculptures, I create organic shapes using reclaimed machinery parts or objects from junkyards, along with modelling elements like plaster or latex. These materials emphasise the ideas of growth and metamorphosis. I design figurative machines that examine the function of objects estranged from their original meanings, often resulting in malfunctioning machinery. My sculptures incorporate elements of repetition and mechanisation, as well as heaviness in size and weight, alongside fragility in both material and concept. This reflects on issues of identity and alienation, often stemming from inherited labour and societal failures. The works resemble machines that are intentionally malfunctioning and detached from their primary purposes.
I grew up in a small city [population - 8.878; main occupations - factory, agriculture, farms, crafts] in rural post-communist Romania. I became aware of the ways labour, migration, and economic change shape both people and the environments they inhabit. Through processes of transformation, I create works that explore the life of a worker, the afterlife of discarded objects, and experiences of estrangement, alienation, and belonging. My sculptures often occupy a space between the industrial and the bodily, drawing attention to the histories, tensions, and vulnerabilities embedded within materials.
CV
Education
Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts London
MA Fine Art 2024–2026 University for the Creative Arts
BA (Hons) Film and Digital Art 2020–2023Work Experience
Gallery Invigilator (paid) - Chelsea Space 2026 (February - November 2026)
Invigilator and welcome desk, open and close the gallery, set up any AV equipment, help with gallery events such as artist talks, publication launch, performances.
Gallery Invigilator (paid) - Camberwell Space (2025)
Invigilator for the UBUNTU exhibition until December 2025 (one day a week)
Student Ambassador (paid) – University for the Creative Arts (2022 –2024) & University for the Arts London (2025-2026)
Assisting with outreach, student support, and promoting university programs.
Worked within the admission team during Clearing Season, helping students with email enquiries and phone applications. Worked as Front Of House and Usher for Events such as exhibitions and UAL Fashion shows. Runner – Amazon Ad Production — (November 2023)
Supported camera and lighting departments, liaised with talent, and managed equipment setup on location.
Volunteer Experience
Museum of Youth Culture – Volunteer Archivist (Jan 2024 – Nov 2024)
Worked with the online archive database and led Scanning Socials to collect materials from various youth subcultures.
Open City Documentary Film Festival - Volunteer (September 2022 and September 2023)
Helped with event logistics and assisted with film screenings.
Welcomed guests and helped direct the audience to the venues.
Exhibitions and Special Projects
Sulina, Insula Sonora. Caii Sălbatici merg unde vor [Sulina, Sound Island. Wild horses go wherever they want] - group vernissage and installation at National Museum of Contemporary Arts Bucharest, Romania. (November 2019). Works shown: video, photography, sound and text. https://e-zeppelin.ro/insula-sonora-caii-salbatici-merg-unde-vor-rezultatul-atelierului-de-documentare-creativa-la-sulina/
Campulung Film Fest - Special Guest at the film festival (August 2020). Film screening. https://campulungfilmfest.ro/proiecte/cff5
Send Me Your Third Space Location – Zine Launch and Group Exhibition (November 2024)
A celebration of third spaces in South London, featuring zine-making, music, and an exhibition showcasing local community stories.
WomenCinemakers Biennale 2024 - featured in publication
Circus Circus (2023), a film by Adelina Apetrei was included in the WomenCinemakers Biennale 2024 publication. https://anyflip.com/pxdko/msrv/basic
Singapore Art Week 2025 - video showcase (January 2025)
Trigger Warning: Camera is Shooting 2’11” (2024) by Adelina Apetrei was included as a single-channel video in the show.
Exe.hail 2025 - installation showcase (May 2025) curated by UnderTheRoof at Candid Art Centre. Displaying two of the sculptures part of the (Non)functional (2024-2025) series and Trigger Warning: Camera is Shooting 2’11” (2024).
In Pursuit Of Ascension group exhibition at Vout-o-renee’s Gallery, London - painting display (May 2025). Adelina’s debut in painting, first time showcasing two of her painting works Fecioara (2024) and Pilgrims (2024).
How to read things wrong // A diagram in motion exhibition - group exhibition hosted by Five Years Gallery, London (July 2025). Adelina shared with the audience her first stop-motion animation Entangled (2025).
Apophenia - group exhibition at Central Saint Martins (December 2025). Adelina showed her sculpture “Voltmeter” 2025
Sanctuaries - group exhibition at St Augustine Church (April 2026). Adelina displayed the sculpture titled ”Relief” (2025)
Central Saint Martins MA Grad Show (July 2026) - group exhibition, end of MA show. Displaying Safety Yellow Installation
24/7 - Group exhibition at Hypha Studio Southwark; Adelina showed Drum/Barrel Installation (2026), Skin (2026) and Clamp’s Pinch (2026) as part of Frieze Week Gallery Trail