Curators' Tours
The curators Veronika Hackl & Stephan Kuss guide trough the exhibition The Belly Knows Before the Brain.
Digestion is one of the most ordinary yet mysterious functions of our body. Through metabolism, the body supplies itself with nutrients, stores energy, and eliminates what is not digestible. In this way, a continuous cycle is created that sustains life. Our digestive tract is a complex system, kept in balance by countless organisms, and in turn it is keeping our organism in balance.
The Belly Knows Before the Brain proposes a change of perspective on digestion and metabolism: from a purely human bodily function towards an ecological practice in which multiple species participate. The exhibition responds to ecological crises that disrupt the metabolic flows of our planet, such as soil degradation, weakened nutrient cycles, or the over-exploitation of finite resources as well as societal distancing from decay and compost. The site-specific installation is conceived as the belly of the universe: planetary digestive organisms, embodied as ceramic and wooden sculptures and as wool objects, inhabit the space. Digestion and decay become spatially, sensorially, and collectively tangible. Shaped by fermentation, composting, and nutrient cycles, the exhibition transforms into a living system—a space that is at once kitchen, compost, and multispecies commons. The exhibition invites visitors to trust in the knowledge of the body, in the intelligence of microbes, and in the generosity of decomposition.
The Belly Knows Before the Brain is the first institutional solo exhibition by the artists Fuzzy Earth in Austria, presented by KunstHausWien.
Free admission
In German or English
On request: kunstvermittlung@kunsthauswien.com
