15 May 2016

Identity and the body in tension

The search for the own identity is as old as humankind and one of the driving sources for innovations. Identity is built from the past and the ideas of the future. Early 21st century humans see themselves as children of planet earth, explorers of new planets of the infinite space and - such as Taxispalais states at the introduction of the upcoming exhibition 'Mapping The Body' - victors "over physical limitations"; and this thanks to science and the distribution of knowledge via media (like digital communication).

From 11 June until 28 August 2016, the exhibition 'Mapping The Body - The Body in Contemporary Life' at the Galerie im Taxispalais in Innsbruck (Tyrol, Austria) invites visitors to explore our world from the angle of the body and how it transforms with social and political as well as cultural (incl. religion) circumstances and technological developments under keywords like gender and sexuality. In the context of the idea of exploring an infinite space and of being victorious over physical limitations, the narrow definitions of 'gender' and 'sexuality' appear under a new light.

One of the exhibited artists is Michael Fliri (born 1978 in South-Tyrol, living in Vienna) whose work was presented recently in the region nearby Innsbruck, Tyrol at 'Art and Nature 2016. Walking with Senses' during Merano Spring Festival in South Tyrol. On occasion of the festival, Fliri speaks in a video (embedded below) about his approach to create his performance 'Returning from Places I've Never Been II' and the mask he wears. Fliri is known for playing with roles, images of heros and antiheros and uses therefore costumes to slip into the identity of others. In the video interview, he mentions as basic sources nature and the special cultural environment (South-Tyrol; two languages Italian and German) he was born in.

fig.: 'Returning from Places I’ve Never Been' by Michael Fliri, 2013. Courtesy Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Mailand Milan. Photo: Antoinette Bader; © Michael Fliri. On 10 June 2016 at 20:00, the performance 'Returning from Places I've Never Been II' by Michael Fliri is scheduled as event at the exhibition 'Mapping The Body - The Body in Contemporary Life' (11 June - 28 August) at Galerie im Taxispalais in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria.

BAU talks to Michael Fliri from BAU on Vimeo.