Hevea Act 6: An Elastic Continuum
Bethan Hughes
Curatorial support: Bettina Siegele
In Hevea Act 6: An Elastic Continuum, artist Bethan Hughes traces the history of Taraxacum Koksaghyz (aka the Kazakh or Russian dandelion) from the Tian Shan mountains in Kazakhstan to reveal the intrinsic connections between humans, plants, politics and power. The exhibition is part of the ongoing artistic research project Hevea, which uses rubber – an organic substance bound to the rise of capitalism, imperialism and modernity – to highlight the ways in which humans and nature are intertwined with the military-industrial complex. Hevea Act 6 is part of the annual programme The Resistance of Nothingness curated by Bettina Siegele.
By tracing the route of the Kazakh dandelion via the development of Hevea Act 6: An Elastic Continuum, the artist also traces a history of (female) resistance. Whether it is the agitation of female agricultural labourers from Soviet Ukraine, or the sabotage practised by women in the Auschwitz subcamp Raisko, the story of kok-saghyz illustrates the close bonds as well as tensions between people and plants, politics and power.
Bethan Hughes is an artist and researcher who creates installations that combine moving image, film, sculpture and text to explore political, social and technological transformations. Her latest work, Hevea Act 6 premiered as part of the European Media Platform at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Spain in December 2023. Bethan Hughes completed a PhD in Art and Cultural History at the University of Leeds (GBR) in 2020. Participation in numerous exhibitions and solo shows throughout Europe, including Summer Interlude, Flutgraben Project Space, Berlin (D) in 2023; A Fluid Defence, Künstlerhaus Sootborn, Hamburg (D) in 2022; Hevea Act 4: Unnatural Ecologies, feldfünf, Berlin (D) in 2021; Hevea: frontviews, HAUNT, Berlin (D) in 2018; Softbodies, Project Space, Leeds (GBR) in 2017. www.bethanhughes.com
Outreach programme
09.11.2024 | 14.00
Exhibition talk in the realm of the PREMIERENTAGE 2024
23.11.2024 | 11.30
Exhibition tour Art & Coffee
11.12.2024 | 17.30
Guided tour with Bettina Siegele
17.01.2025 | 19.00
Finissage & Book Launch
