Stine Deja “Hard core, soft bodies“ (installation view). Photo: Stine Deja.
Press Release, December 2018
Hard core, soft bodies is a collection of videos that reimagine the human form. The 3D hybrid beings, constructed of biological organs and technological prosthetics, stand in a literal ‘grey area’ making familiar sounds and subtle movements. There is an undeniable bizarreness to imagining the inner-workings of our biological bodies, but when cleaned up and stripped of the ‘mess’ a digestive tract earns the same elegance as a single unoccupied contact lens. The work serves as a tribute to the intricate and phenomenal natural human body and the possibility for technology to further expand its potential. This futuristic re-imagining of bodies draws on one of Deja’s key questions: what does it mean to be human in the age of artificial intelligence and the technological takeover?
For this exhibition Stine Deja will create a site-specific environment around the pieces. Six tons of gravel will be installed to extract the grey zone narrative into the physical space and minimise the boundaries between the screen and the viewer. A unique ecosystem exists in the gallery: the natural floor makes the environment feel both inside and outside, while the smoke instates an unconscious mystery in the space by drawing on recurring sci-fi tropes. The viewer is forced to feel they have slipped into another reality, where even the view from the windows to the ‘outside world’ is no longer as expected.
Stine Deja “Hard core, soft bodies“ (installation view). Photo: Stine Deja.
Stine Deja (1986, Denmark) received her MA from the Royal College of Art in London in 2015 and has since shown her work in various places, such as: Annka Kultys Gallery (London), UNIT 110 (New York) and SixtyEight Art Institute (Copenhagen). In January she will begin her 3 month residency at SPACE, London.
We Kindly thank Amt für Kultur und Denkmalschutz Dresden, The Danish Arts Foundation, Studentenwerk Dresden, Freundeskreis der HfBK Dresden & Netzwerk Kreativ for supporting the exhibition.
Opening: Thursday the 6th of December, 4-10pm | Facebook event
Exhibition period: 6th of December - 16th of December 2018
Opening hours: Wedensday-sunday: 2-5pm.
UPDATE, 9TH OF DECEMBER: “Dear friends, we are very shocked and disappointed to tell you that the solo show of Stine Deja is closed because of a burglary. We hope to see you back in our space in January.”
Stine Deja “Hard core, soft bodies“ (installation view). Photo: Stine Deja.
Stine Deja “Hard core, soft bodies“ (installation view). Photo: Stine Deja.
Stine Deja “Hard core, soft bodies“ (installation view). Photo: Stine Deja.
Stine Deja “Hard core, soft bodies“ (installation view). Photo: Stine Deja.
Stine Deja “Hard core, soft bodies“ (installation view). Photo: Stine Deja.