In 1882, the zoologist Elie Metchnikoff pierced starfish larvae with thorns from a tangerine tree and, the next day, peered through his microscope and observed cells from the larvae swarming the tips of the thorns. Metchnikoff was convinced that organisms recognize and attack foreign matter, and he described what he saw in terms of immunity, importing a millennia-old legal concept into the realm of biology. Ever since Metchnikoff’s experiment, the violent metaphor of the body warding off invaders has shaped how people not only perceive the relationships between organisms but define the self.
For Starfish and Citrus Thorn, the artist duo Goldin+Senneby will revisit the meeting of the two organisms under Metchnikoff’s microscope and consider the legacy of his experiment. In an illustrated lecture, they’ll reflect on the concept of immunity as well as the perspectives of those who are living with autoimmune conditions and have come to resent the language that frames diagnosis, treatment, and the experience of illness. And they’ll consider alternatives to the metaphors that portray the body as a state waging war against alien microbes, enforcing a dichotomy between the self and all that lies beyond.
Starfish and Citrus Thorn is presented with Amant, a nonprofit arts organization that fosters experimentation and dialogue through exhibitions, public programs, and artist residencies. The event is part of Goldin+Senneby’s Studio & Research residency at Amant, and related to a long-term collaboration with Triple Canopy that includes the writing of a novel by Katie Kitamura. RSVPing is not mandatory, but registering in advance is encouraged; those who do so will secure a seat and receive updates on the event.
This public program is made possible through generous support from Jane Hait, a founding member of Triple Canopy Director’s Circle; the Stolbun Family; Critical Minded, an initiative to invest in cultural critics of color cofounded by The Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Ford Foundation; the New York State Council on the Arts; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support for this program was provided by the Swedish Research Council.
- Goldin+Senneby is a Stockholm-based artist subject established in 2004 by Simon Goldin and Jakob Senneby. Goldin+Senneby often focuses on speculation and financial markets, and employs the practices that distinguish those markets. Their collaboration has also been shaped by the experience of disease, vulnerability, and caregiving, especially that of living with an autoimmune condition. Goldin+Senneby’s retrospective, “Standard Length of a Miracle,” was on view in 2016 at Tensta konsthall in Stockholm and in 2017 at the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane. Goldin+Senneby has had solo exhibitions at e-flux, New York; CCA Derry-Londonderry; Kadist, Paris; and the Power Plant, Toronto, among other venues. In 2015, Triple Canopy published Headless, a detective novel, ghostwritten by K. D., that culminated Goldin+Senneby’s eight-year investigation of offshore finance and human sacrifice. In 2019, Triple Canopy published “Eternal Employment,” a listing for a never-ending job at a train station in Gothenburg, written by Lina Ekdahl as part of a project by Goldin+Senneby.