Survival Strategies

Exhibition by Jared Theis

January 14 – 31, 2016
Reception January 14

18:00 – 20:00Thursdays 15:00 – 19:00
Saturdays & Sundays 12:00 – 17:00
Or call +47 45 04 00 11 for appointment

The past three years I have been living and working in Oslo, pursuing a body of work that explores the relationship of the body to sculptural and digital environments. These investigations take place through sculpture, video, animation and performance. I build sculptural and digital environments, which become spaces for fictional characters to inhabit. I play the role of these characters, making sculptural suits that connect me to these spaces. The suit becomes a means of entering these worlds and exploring various states of being. I’m particularly interested in vulnerability and how organisms adapt to their surroundings. These sculptural suits are clad with armored plates and organic
forms, which serve as camouflage. The suit becomes a type of thick skin that serves as protection but is also a burden to carry. While wearing these suits I imagine myself as a survivalist being and perform various rituals that are documented by video.

Jared Theis (born 1977) received a Master’s Degree from the University of California, Davis in 2012. In 2014 he received a Statens kunstnerstipend from Kulturradet. In 2012 he was awarded a Joan Mitchell MFA grant. He currently works between Oslo and the United States.
www.jaredtheis.com