TRANSGENESIS by Agnes Questionmark
The Orange Garden is pleased to present TRANSGENESIS, a new series of experiments by Agnes Questionmark, curated by Arturo Passacantando, Tommaso de Benedictis and Charlie Mills and in partnership with Harlesden High Street.
Unfolding in three parts, TRANSGENESIS represents the evolutionary process of perpetual self-transformation which culminates in Agnes’s long-durational performance: 184 hours of performance over the course of 23 consecutive days, 8 hours each day. Agnes’s act of bodily defiance is emphasised by Magnus Westwell’s choreography, of which a special programme of dancers will further activate the space on select days, with sound design by Portamento and costumes by Erica Curci.
Human evolution is taking place right before us, only a tentacle length away and undeterred by the sapiens’ claim of dominion over natural selection. The cognitive and technological capacities to overcome humanity are no longer science-fiction tropes, but stark reality. By acknowledging and harnessing the power of our bodies as potential biogenetic systems for change, we will no longer surrender to the binary forces that have castigated our society with repressive measures of control and oppression.
TRANSGENESIS, the process of transferring genes from one organism to another, has the potential to change the physical characteristics or traits of an organism. The technology is developing quickly and is expected to become the most significant actor in the future of human speciation. As a species we already cultivate transgenic animals and plants for pharmaceutical applications and human consumption, this exhibition aims to explore the idea of becoming one ourselves. TRANSGENESIS investigates the possibility of transcending the limitations of our given physiognomy.
In TRANSGENESIS, a metamorphosis is taking place. Agnes represents a new species, a half-human half-cephalopod hybrid genderless creature. A cellular being, a microorganism that has the ability to multiply herself. Agnes is a fluid creature, a liquid entity, that takes new forms and shapes, constantly destroying herself to give birth to new life. She is the destruction that leads to construction. She is the necessary death that leads to life in a never ending evolutionary process. Through her embodiment of the octopus she manifests the ultimate sacrifice of motherhood.
