Ane Graff: The Goblets

The Goblets is a new series of sculptures by research fellow Ane Graff, presented at Ila pensjonat studios by 1857. Internalising materials changes the composition of the self, whether by means of metals (like the mercury, zinc and copperfound in dental amalgam), medications (anti-anxiety and hormonal therapy drugs are known to be implicated in Alzheimer's disease and Lupus, respectively), air-borne pollutants (road dust contains variouspolycyclic organic hydrocarbons,phthalates, benzothiazoles and plasticisers), pesticides (containing hexachlorocyclohexane or rotenone), or food additives (for example artificial sweeteners or unsaturated fatty acids) or residues from food production (like the antibiotic residue from cow's milk). These materials are ubiquitous in our surroundings, in the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the pills we take and the air we breathe. Thus the very nature of our existence contradicts our modes of self-explanation. Or, more precisely, the contradictory nature of our biological existence brings us face to face with the horror of self-poison.