Biology Wafts: Heterotopic Space and the Posthuman in Anicka Yi's Works

Abstract

Anicka Yi is a South Korean-American contemporary conceptual artist whose work melds biology, scentscapes and technology. Her rise in the international art world over the last decade came at a dizzying pace, and she appears to have largely circumvented the biennale circuit - the contemporary stepping stones to high profile exhibition venues. This paper explores structural and conceptual approaches to specific elements of two exhibitions: "In Love With the World," on display in 2021 and 2022 at the Tate's Turbine Hall (London), and "Life is Cheap," a 2017 exhibition at the Guggenheim (New York), using posthumanist theory and notions of heterotopia to deconstruct Yi's work and "white cube" global art ecosystems. I also elaborate on Yi's process of developing scentscapes, the role olfactory art plays in shifting the typical visual hierarchy of art gallery spaces, and Yi's fusing of biology and technology. The main objective is to show how Yi's creativity is concerned with a re-articulation of human co-existence with others (human, other species, machines, the environment) in order to conceive more harmonious forms of co-habitation in our post-human world.