Art collective SUPERFLEX participates in the 11th Shanghai Biennale with the new film work Pigs, Space and Time
Art group SUPERFLEX was founded in 1993 by Danish artists Jakob Fenger, Rasmus Nielsen and Bjørnstjerne Christiansen. They are participating in the 11th Shanghai Biennale which opened on 11 November, and will close on 12 March 2017; the theme of the edition being “Why Not Ask Again? – Maneuvres, Disputations & Stories.”
SUPERFLEX’s oeuvre consists of large-scale installations, films and long-term process-based projects. Playful and subversive, SUPERFLEX produce works which often encourage involvement from the viewer, in light of considering the power of “influence” in today’s social and economic context. Their contribution to the Biennial, Pigs, Space and Time, is a new film installation based on the 2005 SUPERFLEX project Chinese Sausages. They explain:
“With a pig as the main character, we are presented to a dreamlike universe with layers of stories and imagery. Through the story of a pig with an identity crisis caused by its many travels in time and space, the film treats notions of migration and identity construction. With a humorous twist, Pigs, Space and Time, takes you on a journey that critically reflects on the cycle of things and the phenomena of outsourcing.”
Chinese Sausages Made in Germany (2005) was a response to a number of European cities declining in population due to unemployment caused from the outsourcing of labour to China.
Launched in 1996, the Shanghai Biennale was the first contemporary art Biennale in mainland China. Under the creative helm of Raqs Media Collective, the Biennale continues with its trajectory of gathering the most talented international curators, organisations and artists to explore contemporary art practices and their urban surroundings.
Superflex will present an exhibition at von Bartha, S-chanf in February 2017.