The works of artist duo Pakui Hardware comprises a sculptural installation – a continuation of their project Extrakorporal – that focuses on organs grown and cultivated outside of human bodies, within the practices of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Certain animal species, such as sea urchins and jellyfish, themselves have this regenerative potential. The duo investigate these possibilities through new sculptures made of glass, artificial fur, textiles, leather, silicone, metal and plastics. Their interest lies not only in the regenerative potential of these practices, but also in the biocapitalism that profits from the medical augmentation and modification of the human form.
Pakui Hardware was formed by Neringa Černiauskaitė (b. 1984, Klaipėda, Lithuania) and Ugnius Gelguda (b. 1977, Vilnius, Lithuania) in 2014. Through sculptural bricolages, installational environments and performative lectures, the duo’s work explores how technology is shaping current economy and the physical reality itself, including the human body. Recent solo exhibitions include Underbelly, Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig, Leipzig (2019); Extrakorporal, Bielefelder Kunstverein (2018); Vanilla Eyes, MUMOK, Vienna (2016). Group exhibitions include MAXXI, Rome (2018); Musée d’Orsay, Paris (2018); Kunsthalle Basel, Basel (2017).
EXHIBITED WORKS
Extrakorporal, 2019
Sculpture (glass, faux fur,
leather, silicone, chia seeds, metal hanging system)
75 × 65 × 175 cm
Underbelly, 2019
Sculptural object (thermo vacuumed plexiglas, silicone, soil, glass object, chia seeds)
160 × 80 × 40 cm
Extrakorporal, 2019
Sculptural object (thermo vacuumed plexiglas, silicone, chia seeds, soil, faux fur)
71 × 37 × 67 cm
Extrakorporal, 2019
Sculptural object (thermo vacuumed plexiglas, silicone, various textiles)
71 × 67 × 37 cm
Extrakorporal, 2019
Sculpture (glass, faux fur, various textiles,
latex, metal hanging system)
60 × 65 × 165 cm
Courtesy the artists.
Commissioned by the 16th Istanbul Biennial.
Co-produced by the 16th Istanbul Biennial and MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain.
