Bodies of Abeyance, 2023
Forecast, 2023
Treasure Hunt, 2023
Solo show LIMBO, shown at KULTURFOLGER, Zurich
The human desire for a healthy, long life and the subjugation of other living beings, as well as the categorization of life in favor of humans paved the way for the unprecedented advancement of medicine and later biotechnology. The once fictional concept of artificially prolonging life or even overcoming death entirely suddenly appears remarkably realistic. Within this eagerness, scientific experiments, yielding promising results, blend with the most ambitious desires to transcend human biology. The boundaries between life and death, as well as fact and fiction, gradually blur, perpetuating a sense of standing on the border of a wholly unknown and intimidating terrain of human existence.
It is this transitional space that I aimed to address in my solo show, Limbo — a title referring to the state of abeyance or awaiting. Upon entering the installation, an unsettling green light enters our eyes, fatiguing our green receptors and resulting in a slight discomfort inside our eyeballs. Often employed on large construction sites as a security measure against theft and vandalism, it now panoptically floods the entire space, connecting the pieces exhibited to one another. Simultaneously, it enacts an intimidating sense of surveillance and transparency. This is also reflected in the materials I selected for the pieces, ranging from aluminum, and polished stainless steel to transparent acrylic glass. Bodies of Abeyance, consisting of two hanging pieces, is inspired by tables used in experiments on mice and rats to test anti-anxiety pills. Meanwhile, Forecast, a four-piece installation placed on the floor, references the way we bury our deceased. Serving as a symbol of impending calamity in many countries, the body of an Acherontia Atropos rests calmly on the window-like structure. The polished surface of the acrylic glass, reflecting the faces of curious visitors, becomes a sort of mirror. In the back of the space, I installed Treasure Hunt, a wall piece cast in aluminum, inspired by the skeleton of a freshly hunted rabbit. All animals featured or alluded to in this exhibition, in one way or another, connect to the themes of uncertainty and captivity, enabling reflections on how death, in human hands, becomes something controllable — a system Achille Mbembe described as Necropolitics. As a whole, the installation is fueled by a tense atmosphere, which I tend to relate to the current state of the world. Looking closer, I cannot help but perceive it as an ongoing transition into a new era of technology and crisis, recalibrating our conditio humana in a never-experienced way.
