“The Powers That Be” Exhibition
Station Independent Projects
[Image: Danila Tkachenko, from the series Escape, 2013, Image courtesy of the artist @ Station Independent Projects, NYC]
This event has ended.
Curated by Ilari Laamanen
The Powers That Be takes as its point of departure the knowledge of the body and the circulation of energy, more specifically the manifestations of physical energy. The thematic will be discussed through an ensemble of both contemporary and avant-garde works from the past by Marcel Mariën, Erkki Pirtola, Mika Taanila and Danila Tkachenko.
Energy in this context is treated more as a prerequisite for life and for any human activity than as a commodity or resource. It seems that, at times, we act based on raw impulses that cannot be traced back to any given order or reason. The Powers That Be does not so much use the act of destabilization as a method or analytical tool as it takes for granted that all we can rely on is change. Knowledge is always in the state of becoming: it is never ready and should never be fixed. Therefore, to question is more meaningful than learning by heart and fitting in.
Even though the artworks featured in the exhibition can be seen as channeling transcendental experience, the last resort is always the body and its urge to connect with, and learn from, its habitat. However, the habitat does no longer
only refer to the physical surroundings and nature we encounter but also to our connection to the virtual realm. While it remains unclear what the hybridization of humans and machines can actually mean, it is tempting to map those very possibilities of extending both the human consciousness and the limits of corporeality.
The thematic of the exhibition will be discussed further in a reader edited by Ilari Laamanen and designed by Johanna Lundberg. The reader includes texts from cultural ecologist and geophilosopher David Abram, artist and researcher Vappu Jalonen and media theorist Jussi Parikka.
Media
Schedule
from July 17, 2015 to August 09, 2015
Opening Reception on 2015-07-17 from 18:00 to 21:00
Artist(s)
Marcel Mariën, Erkki Pirtola, Mika Taanila, Danila Tkachenko