When is Archaeology? A Flotation Machine, an Art Exhibition and the (Un)Sievable Realm of Possibilities.

This article examines the interdisciplinary collaboration between archaeology and contemporary art through the presentation of a flotation machine—an archaeological tool used to separate small finds from soil—at the Geography of Looking exhibition in the Ar/Ge Kunst art space in Bolzano, Italy. By modifying the flotation machine with a transparent window and situating it within an art context, the exhibition challenged traditional archaeological practices and disciplinary boundaries, inviting new forms of engagement, interpretation, and reflection on what archaeology is and when it occurs. The project foregrounded the often overlooked or discarded "extra" materials in archaeological processes, emphasizing the potential for archaeology to become more inclusive, democratic, and responsive by embracing uncertainty, marginality, and the unsieved residues of excavation. Ultimately, the article argues that art/archaeology collaborations can expand archaeological inquiry by fostering openness to alternative ways of seeing, knowing, and relating to the past and present.