Meta.Morf 2022 – Ecophilia / Trøndelag Centre for Contemporary Art / May 19 – July 31 /
Curator: Zane Cerpina / Co-curator: Espen Gangvik
States of Chimera / 2022
Annike Flo [NO]
We are no longer considered to be individuals, but metaorganisms; chimera, made into being from the collaborative force of microorganisms and our own cells. I look into my own visceral connections, to the in-human (Jeffrey J. Cohen), to the aliens within. Symbiosis moves us away from old hierarchies of concepts and beings. Attempting to feel myself as metaorganism, a heaving gelatinous pile of loose connections, consummation, reproduction, and decay, I feel the queerness and erotic possibilities of this monstrous condition that it is to be me, monster, human. The Erotic is often connected to our private sphere, but what is private and what does it mean to love oneself when both encompasses the trillions of bodies that make us up? Where does the line between self love and zoophilia go?
Silk, fur, feather, leather – all which are made from other beings, yet touch both our mind and body in inexplicable ways. Sexuality and the queer is often expressed through these materials, and, together with cloth and synthetic varieties, so has my own expression of myself and my erotic.
Annike Flo
Annike Flo (b. 1986) is a cross-disciplinary artist and scenographer. Inspired by the Anthropocene as a concept, Flo investigates what it means to create in our current era, with a focus on our relationship to other beings. She is inspired by research, materials and methods from other fields, and often collaborates with researchers and practitioners from other disciplines. From 2018 to 2021 Flo led the new arena for art and science, NOBA, Norwegian BioArt Arena, at Vitenparken, Ås. Annike holds an MA in scenography from Norwegian Theatre Academy and a BA in costume from LCF, University of the Arts, London (2010).
Header Graphics: “States of Chimera” by Annike Flo.