Exhibition

Jenna Sutela: Stellar Nursery

15 Sep 2022 – 27 Nov 2022

Regular hours

Thursday
13:00 – 19:00
Friday
13:00 – 19:00
Saturday
13:00 – 19:00
Sunday
13:00 – 19:00
Monday
13:00 – 19:00

Free admission

Save Event: Jenna Sutela: Stellar Nursery3

I've seen this1

People who have saved this event:

close

Schering Stiftung

Berlin
Berlin, Germany

Event map

In the Stellar Nursery exhibition, the Finnish artist Jenna Sutela presents her latest body of work, which deals with scientific and poetic aspects of human breast milk.

About

Sutela is particularly interested in current research on breast milk, its ingredients, its effect on infants and the current options for producing the latter in the laboratory. The exhibition includes the sculpture HMO nutrix (2022) and the video Milky Ways (2022), which was created in cooperation with Primer, a Danish platform for art and science.

HMO nutrixis a bubbling column powered by breast pumps, in which synthetic breast milk bubbles. The artist describes the sculpture as "live milk feed". In a way, it mimics human milk production and also refers to the feedback mechanisms between human and more-than-human life forms (e.g. microorganisms) when they connect through the exchange of bodily fluids. The liquid in the sculpture contains human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). These are essential carbohydrates found in breast milk. According to the latest findings, they are indigestible for infants, but they nourish their intestinal bacteria and also protect the baby from diseases by fighting off pathogens. Possibly,

These HMOs also play in Milky Ways(2022) has a central role, a video that takes the viewer on a journey through a machine fed with human milk and a simulation of the human intestine. During her research, Sutela had access to this device at the University of Copenhagen, specifically at the Center for Basic Metabolic Research. Her experiences there resulted in a poetic reflection and narration on current research into the so-called chest-gut-brain axis. As in her earlier works, Sutela addresses the interactions that take place in the human body with non-human life forms, which could possibly even affect our consciousness. The artist is concerned with directing the focus on the diverse interrelationships between us and our environment and asking

In the exhibition space, the biomimetic singing of the German Khoomei singer Arjopa can be heard, which attunes to and amplifies the bubbling of the streams of milk.

What to expect? Toggle

Exhibiting artistsToggle

Jenna Sutela

Comments

Have you been to this event? Share your insights and give it a review below.