NOBA Nordic Baltic contemporary art platform

Bleeding Dry 1 and 2, 2024

330 x 240 cm

used motor oil, coolant, recycled PET bottles, PVC tubes, acrylic glass, PE foil, wire rope, metal grids of Uus Rada gallery, galvanized steel sheet


The BLEEDING DRY series is the first part of a three-part installation – a leaky system in which fluids circulate without the support of motors and pumps. It relies on gravity and the daily manual care and maintenance of the artist and another performer based on the conditions and instructions in a dedicated user manual. Each cycle begins with the ultra-slow passage of used motor oil and coolant through the membranes of Bleeding Dry 1 and 2. A fluid mixture that mimics a total loss scenario in a car generates an inner life associated with unknown anatomies, blood cells and other microorganisms. It undergoes a three-step separation process in the Separator 1,2 and 3 before being reintroduced into Bleeding Dry. Separation residues are collected in the Blood Bag. The series is assembled from dysfunctional car workshop leavings combined with sanitary and medical equipment traversed by oil, a central contributor to the current global crisis. These materials are used to build a new body introducing a deceleration into the constant acceleration pushing for individual efficiency and exhaustion. To maintain its weak life is an embodied practice and fantasy of human and non-human coexistence beyond extractability. A previous iteration was shown at ARTVILNIUS – International Contemporary Art Fair, Vilnius, LT (2023)


More art by this artist

Installation

Blood Bag (out of order) by Mara Kirchberg
Blood Bag (out of order)  
330 x 120 cm
Separators 1,2 and 3 by Mara Kirchberg
Separators 1,2 and 3  
180 x 120 cm