Extra Bodies – The Use of the «Other Body» in Contemporary Art

November 18, 2017-February 4, 2018
@ Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (CH)

The exhibition explores an artistic phenomenon that became increasingly apparent in the1990s and is experiencing a boom at the beginning of the new millennium: it is the artistic practice of resorting to ‘extra bodies'. These 'other bodies' are chosen by the artists on the basis of their specific social or biosocial role - and could thus be called extras. All works are characterized by their "performance" character. What is striking here, that the viewer is neither involved nor invited to participate. In contrast to many artistic productions, which are discussed under the term of the relational aesthetics, participation is not demanded here. The exhibition discusses the different modes of presentation and functions of extras in their social and biosocial roles.

Artists: Ai Weiwei, Vanessa Beecroft, Guy Ben-Ner, Oscar Bony, Christoph Büchel, Gino de Dominicis, Maria Eichhorn, Jens Haaning, Yves Klein, Teresa Margolles, Yoshua Okón, Yuri Pattison, L.A. Raeven, Edwin Sánchez, Christoph Schlingensief, Santiago Sierra, Stephen Willats, Carey Young, Artur Żmijewski

Curator: Dr. Raphael Gygax
Assistant: Lea Altner
Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zurich