HELEN PYNOR and PETA CLANCY exhibition in Slovenia

May 31, 2013

GALERIJA KAPELICA, SLOVENIA

A solo exhibition of ‘The Body is a Big Place’ by Helen Pynor and Peta Clancy has just opened at Galerija Kapelica in Ljubljana, Slovenia with a 3-channel video projection and a newly worked version of the artists’ pig hearts performance, in which the artists perfuse hearts with fresh pig’s blood, developed in collaboration with pharmacologist Gorazd Drevensek from the University of Ljubljana.

The performance forms part of a longer term exploration of the ambiguous edges between life and death, and issues relating to organ transplantation. Unexpectedly one of the hearts in this performance continued to beat for 20 hrs, further extending the duration of it’s ‘living’ status outside the body of the pig and offering a poignant but paradoxically life affirming spectre. Here is a 5-min video made by Science Gallery Dublin of the performance the artists did earlier this year in which they perfused with blood for the first time.

ISEA2013

Peta and Helen are showing video documentation of their recent heart perfusion performances at ISEA2013 – 19th International Symposium of Electronic Art at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, from 8 June-14 July. The work forms part of the ‘Synapse’ exhibition showcasing outcomes of a selection of the Synapse Art-Science residencies commissioned by the Australian Network for Art and Technology over the last 10 years. Click here to take a look.