An Experiment on Agency
2020 – ongoing
Public Events:
An Experiment on Agency #7 (Performative Lecture), Connective Symposium, Fontys University of the Arts Tilburg, Netherlands, 2022
An Experiment on Agency #6: A Discussion on Civic Participation, RIBOCA (Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art) Repository of Knowledge, M-Gallery, Riga, Latvia, 2022
An Experiment on Agency #5 – Skogen, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2022
An Experiment on Agency #4 – Skogen, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2020 [Private Event]
An Experiment on Agency #3 – Cittadellarte, Biella, Italy, 2020
An Experiment on Agency #2 / without bodies – HDK-Valand, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2020
An Experiment on Agency #1 – Gallery Monitor, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2019
Learning Kit:
RIBOCA (Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art) Repository of Knowledge, Latvia, 2022 – Link
An Experiment on Agency is an inquiry-based participatory project investigating questions surrounding the (im)possibility of agency faced by individuals within socio-political landscapes dominated by imperialism, neoliberalism, and ideological dictatorship. It aims to comprehend the complexities of agency constrained by the intricate network of economic and socio-political conditions intertwined with the constructs of race, gender, and (dis)ability, compelling individuals and communities to navigate, embody, and negotiate their political agency daily.
Through a series of incremental participatory experiments, the project explores collaborative, discursive, and embodied methodologies rooted in participatory art. These methodologies seek to fundamentally revise and redefine our theorized understanding of agency. These experiments facilitate a bottom-up exploration of the subject, drawn from the embodied, sensuous, intersubjective qualities they foster and the informal discussions they encourage.
Each experiment evolves from established theoretical frameworks, ongoing conversations, and past challenges, grounding it in research-based practice. This iterative process shapes future research paths, influences material selections, and fosters ongoing discussions, emphasizing the research-driven essence of the practice. The variation in situational parameters, such as timing, duration, and location, provides a rich source of data and observations for analysis and discussion within this research.
— An Experiment on Agency #7 — Performative Lecture
— An Experiment on Agency #6: A Discussion on Civic Participation
Based on learning kit designed for RIBOCA (Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art) Repository of Knowledge. The project “RIBOCA Repository of Knowledge” is facilitated by RIBOCA (Riga International Biennial), NAC (Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts) and HIAP (Helsinki International Artist Programme) – Link
(Photos by Renārs Koris)
— An Experiment on Agency #5
— An Experiment on Agency #4
— An Experiment on Agency #3
— An Experiment on Agency #1
— An Experiment on Agency #2
Since it was not possible to make my practice public, due to Covid-19, An Experiment on Agency #2 was placed without any participant. Through an essay A Landscape of Absence: Reflections on Participatory Installation during a Pandemic andThe Installation art, physical presence and collective space, I investigated the relationship and conversation around socio-political installation art, the importance of physical presence, and public assembly as a political act
The video documentation is a collaboration with sound designer, Merve Erez.
