Meta.Morf 2022:
Ecophilia
19. May – 31. July 2022
- Free entrance
Foto: Amalie Marie Selvik / Trøndelag senter for samtidskunst
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Ecophilia can be defined as our deep desire to connect with nature. But what is nature? And what is ecophilia in the age of the Anthropocene? When borders between nature, human and technology have become blurred, even obsolete?
How is ecophilia manifested today? Fighting climate change? Giving legal rights to non-humans? Advocating the devolution of the human species – for the better of the planet?
Or should a true ecophile love and care for a nature transformed with all its strange new habitants? What about saving plastic Christmas trees, protecting artificial landscapes and putting genetically modified organisms in the list of protected species?
The exhibition "Ecophilia" present artists who critically question what it means to be a real ecophile –a true lover of nature– today. And how to become better at it?
In our search to become better ecophiles, we are desperate to upgrade our communication with nature.
What would happen if we traded our comfort with the living conditions of animals? With the help of prosthetics, Thomas Thwaites takes on the seemingly careless life of a goat in his work «Goatman (A holiday from being human)». Roaming together with his newfound four-legged companions, Twaites contemplates stripping away the role of humans in the hierarchy of nature.
In the installation «Birdsong», Leena Saarinen brings together languages of people and birds by visualizing bird whistle tones through spectrograms. This allows the viewer to read bird songs just like we read words.
In Annike Flo’s work «States of Chimera», agar growth medium is contaminated with her own microorganisms to create a living sculpture. This is a manifestation for erotic and queer love for the human body.
Extreme measures can be taken to satisfy our desire for ultimate naturalness. Yang Zhichao merges symbiotically with nature in the performance «Planting Grass» (2000) where a surgeon inserts two pieces of grass into the artist’s shoulder. What does the inevitable and painful bodily rejection of the plant roots tell us about our physical bonds with nature?
Thomas Thwaite «Goatman (Taking a holiday from being human)» (2015). Foto: Tim Bowditch
How far are we willing to modify our bodies to benefit non-humans? In the work «I Wanna Deliver a Dolphin…», Ai Hasegawa speculates on becoming a surrogate mother to pass on the genes of endangered species. Can nature finally seek refuge in our man-made Oikos?
And how do these blurred lines between the made and natural affect our philias towards nature? The book «A Bestiary of the Anthropocene» by Disnovation.org helps to navigate the new hybrid beings that coexist with us in this post-natural era. Can we ever truly love the emergent species of the Anthropocene?
«To Flavour Our Tears: eyePhones v. 3.0» by The Center for Genomic Gastronomy allows the audience to explore their role as a sustainable food source to other species. Why not flavour our bodies to taste better?
In her installation «Aquadisia», Stephanie Rothenberg proposes to utilize genetic engineering and the mythical powers of the oysters to create a serum turning humans into more compassionate beings.
Can paradise lost be immortalized through digital technologies? In his work «Re-Animated», Jakob Kudsk Steensen creates a vast virtual landscape to show the disappearance of the Kaua’i ʻōʻō bird from the islands of Hawai’i. Do we really care about the lost nature? Or are we simply drawn to the spectacle of ecological disasters?
Curator team: Zane Cerpina and Espen Gangvik
Ai Hasegawa «I wanna deliver a dolphin» (2011-2013). Foto: Hiromitsu Murakami
Yang Zhichao «Planting Grass» (2000). Foto: Eli Klein Gallery
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