[ISEA2000] Artist Statement: ORLAN – Multimedia Monography

Artist Statement n.a.

CD-Rom at GALERIE YVONAMOR PALIX

ORLAN  refuses the ‘interior exil’ in a given body and proclaims everyone’s right to become themselves in the body of their choice, whether real or virtual. Orlan works on this renaissance by means of resolutely contemporary technological and artistic tools such as the scalpel and prostheses of cosmetic surgery, performance, and the cut and paste function of digital software. Orlan debates ‘live’ the burning issues of today’s society, from the ethics of biotechnological manipulations, the individual’s rights over his or her own body, and the physical/cultural hybrid of identity, to aesthetic norms. In both her performances and works, her explosive art makes us reflect upon the possible future of the mutant body. This CD-Rom presents the interactive trajectory of this unconventional artist — a digital woman, revolutionary and fascinating- through photographs and videos, and interviews and texts by today’s leading critics.