Sensing Nature from Within

Artists: Ursula Biemann & Paulo Tavares/ Cecilia Edefalk/ Elisabete Finger & Manuela Eichner/ Hans Hammarskiöld/ Ingela Ihrman/ Anne Duk Hee Jordan/ Tuija Lindström/ Hanna Ljungh/ Hilde Skancke Pedersen/ The Otolith Group/ Shimabuku/ Christine Ödlund

Curator: Joa Ljungberg

September 28 marked the start of Moderna Museet Malmö’s extensive project, Sensing Nature from Within. Freely inspired by new and old insights into life and matter, and combining art with science and philosophy, the project reflects an intensified search beyond our exploitative culture, towards a new code of ethics. 12 international artists and artist groups are featured in this interdisciplinary exhibition, which also includes a rich program of lectures, discussions, and performances.

Much of the natural world, from which large parts of humanity have thoroughly tried to distance itself, no longer exists. This realisation is starting to increasingly dawn on us and has resulted in a mounting inclination to reconsider old truths and seek out new ways of living and understanding the world.

In many places today, texts are being written, lectures given, and exhibitions held that in a variety of ways to explore man’s complex relationship to the living earth. Moderna Museet Malmö wants to actively contribute to these important reflections and is therefore presenting Sensing Nature from Within during the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020.

The project combines an international art exhibition with an interdisciplinary programme of seminars, discussions, and performances. It contemplates our role within the living world and explores perception, language, and emotion both within and beyond the human sphere. Ignited by the rising urge to wake up from a millennia-long sleep, Sensing Nature from Within wishes to inspire a rethinking of our ourselves as sensuous beings within a more-than-human world.

Upcoming seminars and performances
Both the exhibition and programme of Sensing Nature from Within approach the human/nature relation from an artistic and philosophical viewpoint, aiming to open mental doors, trigger imagination and creativity, rather than presenting practical tips and hands-on solutions for a more sustainable way of life. The programme is produced in close collaboration with Lund University Agenda 2030 Graduate School, a global and cutting-edge research platform for issues related to societal challenges and sustainability.

November 21, 2019: On the Affinity Between Human and Mountain. A half-day seminar with Hanna Ljungh, artist; Jonna Bornemark, philosopher and professor at Södertörn University; and Pella Larsdotter Thiel, co-founder of the Transition Network.

January 16, 2020: Should Nature Be Granted Legal Rights? A half-day seminar centering on the artwork Forest Law by Ursula Biemann and Paulo Tavares, and featuring Anders Ögren, associate professor in economic history at Lund University; David Harnesk, senior lecturer at Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies; Mona Person, member of the Sámi Parliament in Sweden; and Pella Larsdotter Thiel, co-founder of the Transition Network.

February 8, 2020: Monstra. A dance performance directed by Elisabete Finger and Manuela Eichner, performed by five plants and five women (Bárbara Elias, Danielli Mendes, Josefa Pereira, Mariana Costa, and Patrícia Bergantin).

February 27, 2020: Listen to The Trees and Talk with The Flowers. A half day seminar with Christine Ödlund, artist; Anna-Karin Borg-Karlsson, professor emerita at KTH Royal Institute of Technology; Tobias Linné, researcher within critical animal studies at Lund University; and Diego Galafassi, artist and sustainability researcher at Lund University.

March 6, 2020: Inner Transformation for A Sustainable World. A half-day seminar with Helena Granström, writer and poet; Christine Wamsler, professor of sustainability studies at Lund University; Diego Galafassi, artist and sustainability researcher at Lund University; and Ludwig Bengtsson Sonesson, project manager at Sustainability Forum, Lund University.

March 7, 2020: The Giant Clam, a performance by and with Ingela Ihrman, taking place in the Giant Clam’s flat in the residential area of Seved, Malmö.

For more information and updates please visit www.modernamuseet.se or contact Linnéa Jahn, programme producer at Moderna Museet Malmö: l.jahn [​at​] modernamuseet.se.

With generous support from Region Skåne.