![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=3072&h=4607&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=a8eddc8d080edfec3d5dd65b3223c2fc 3072w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=2560&h=3839&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=1b82fbec1a2d467ee8b8d381d4319d4c 2560w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=2048&h=3071&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=9deebf9e9f6203a9c02079e1d011d3e4 2048w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=1920&h=2879&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=78ffd444c1f62737575c3c5e640318d3 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=1536&h=2303&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=5a7b52384fa2a3ec318368d9d47f21da 1536w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=1280&h=1919&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=288cc0b4455e1cd3957b8d811975dae2 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=1024&h=1535&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=a0eb2aca2bad798ad0821e1728291e0b 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=768&h=1151&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=45d01d8fd44078a0d0b8d7b8a1db829a 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=512&h=767&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=667712e9bfdcf3a1e4c5cd8f404fdeee 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=256&h=383&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=8e747c996e01dcd9d507bc297cebb1e3 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Kopi-af-_MG_2813_ANE_GRAFF_STATES_OF_INFLAMMATION.jpg?w=128&h=191&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1627370921&s=520e82883edf15851960b564ec362cb4 128w)
Ane Graff, States of Inflammation, 2019, various materials. Photo by Pirje Mykkänen.
Courtesy OSL contemporary and Kansallisgalleria, Finnish National Gallery
My physical health has been on a lifelong winning streak. No allergies or ambiguous sensitivities. Bones, teeth, and heart fully intact. This has of course been a fantastic fortune, one that has afforded me luxuries such as finding the occasional medical check-ups intriguingly novel rather than insufferably routine. Because of this, the past few months have felt off. And that’s without taking into consideration the pandemic that has concurrently been prowling the world. As this year’s initial months of intense news-reading and rule-following continued, the less urgent everything seemed to feel. Surrendering to a semi-sedated lull felt normal and even comforting. The series of strange symptoms that started bothering me in my half-arsed isolation were consequently ignored to my best ability. First, I lost my sense of smell. Then I started having weird migraines, then a tooth of mine got inflamed and had to be pulled out, and most recently, I experienced an intense bout of sudden onset vertigo that rendered me completely useless for a week. These are all minor ailments that are more annoying than they are concerning but they have made me think about the mechanisms of sickness.
In an admittedly morose twist of fate, Norwegian artist Ane Graff’s already-significant installation titled States of Inflammation (2019) has certainly taken on new meaning due to recent developments in the world. Graff’s practice intersects several areas of scientific research and has most recently been carried out with her as an appointed research fellow at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Much like her past work, the sculptural objects on display in States of Inflammation explore the systems we are part of and the material reality they create, and maintain a feminist new materialist perspective that recognizes humans as agents with influence and power in a material organization. The objects on display in the aforementioned series of work contain various material experiments set up by Graff. The processes involved in these experiments continue to react without human prompting, creating new combinations and orders on their own accord. The work as a whole exists in reference to infection present in human bodies, the climate, and perhaps even our collective values as a result of human interference in nature by way of capitalist tenets. It’s not hard to experience the work as a powerful parallel, to not only the workings of a virus (Graff herself cites Andrea Bagnato’s argument that “it is widely accepted within biomedical science that there is a strong nexus between emerging infectious diseases…and the material footprint of capitalist processes of extraction and accumulation”) but also to a world infected with a sickness so deeply embedded in our collective proverbial immune system that it has completely overridden our own modes of defence.
"The work as a whole exists in reference to infection present in human bodies, the climate, and perhaps even our collective values as a result of human interference in nature by way of capitalist tenets."
There is sickness that resides outside our own bodies: worn-out soil, melting glaciers, festering hate, and oppression. Conditions too immense to deal with on our own, and very easy to ignore. How we choose to cope with physical sickness is personal and largely dependent on beliefs, circumstances, and experiences. Different ways of coping exist in relation to even the biggest of issues. Ane Graff shows us an easy way of understanding a sequence of events that is playing out everywhere, at all times. We have limited control over the constant reactions taking place in all facets of nature. The same goes for human interaction. Our ways of communicating, gathering, and influencing multiply while our own sense of control diminishes. Like groundwater, the sickness seeps through the bedrock of society and the effects are made visible for us now more than ever. Proactive people face problems head-on through persistent effort. Depending on the issue, they look up alternative treatments in Switzerland or make loud statements. For the lost and confused, there are alternatives to avoidance. Art provides an opportunity to learn, to viscerally experience a course of action without personally having to face the consequences. A trial run of sorts. An antidote for passivity is found in the work of Swedish artist Anastasia Ax whose striking performances exemplify a way of dealing with the issues at hand.
"I don’t think not keeping up with the news gave me cavities, but I do think ignoring issues that are uncomfortable is doing us nothing but harm."
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/IMG_6669.jpeg?w=1280&h=853&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1641376404&s=6643c4bd3f35590bde99cb3a1c1ad340 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/IMG_6669.jpeg?w=1024&h=682&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1641376404&s=eb5d88bafcbd1701f18532516450b228 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/IMG_6669.jpeg?w=768&h=511&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1641376404&s=817f493c6c75675a2f69d8ee2bc4b0e5 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/IMG_6669.jpeg?w=512&h=341&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1641376404&s=35cef26f32a664491c866cb02ee43733 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/IMG_6669.jpeg?w=256&h=170&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1641376404&s=71a9c0175915723b2a0ecf5c49b075ab 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/IMG_6669.jpeg?w=128&h=85&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1641376404&s=d505bd7a2e7aa9cbb345c8ce0a8da616 128w)
Anastasia Ax, Memorabilia, preformance during CHART 2020 at Gallery Steinsland Berliner
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Anastasia Ax, The World as of Yesterday, performance, 2019.
Photo Hendrik Zeitler
Performance art is inherently actionable and confrontational. It forces a reaction, whether it be one of outwards action or inwards reflection. It’s hard to ignore it happening, therefore it is also often dismissed by people finding it pointless, or perhaps too much to handle. The performance work of Anastasia Ax is truly confrontational. As a viewer, there exists no doubt that a change will have occurred at the end of the event. Material or emotional, the sheer physical effort provided by the artist will have made its mark. The World as of Yesterday (2013-19) is installed as a powerful performance. Large bodies of printed paper are traversed by Ax, who acts as both destroyer and creator in a landscape full of printed references to human ideas and actions. By destroying the material, its original intent as well as its complete futility is revealed. But despite all the stress the material has been through, it still remains in one form or another. The deconstruction leads to something new, a beautiful monument created by pure effort. It’s a process that is deeply familiar to anyone having dealt with any type of emotional turmoil—or even just having built a sandcastle. The artist exits the performance tired yet fortified by the displayed proof of strength and character.
I’ve heard people say that suppressing one’s emotions is harmful, but to my knowledge, there is no measurable evidence for passiveness making you physically sick. We have seen the world succumb to sickness many times before. Regardless of whether the cause has been ideals or pathogens, the cure has come from informed action. I don’t think not keeping up with the news gave me cavities, but I do think ignoring issues that are uncomfortable is doing us nothing but harm.
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/Kopi-af-PhotoBy_Olof-Ringmar.jpg?w=1024&h=1103&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1626166820&s=8d1b3ca5105204b286815be7e1d5e46d 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/Kopi-af-PhotoBy_Olof-Ringmar.jpg?w=768&h=827&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1626166820&s=cd2f8bf505af18fa718d28a6f9441cff 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/Kopi-af-PhotoBy_Olof-Ringmar.jpg?w=512&h=551&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1626166820&s=63358ea9f7d83e4ab959d4d1fb31e700 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/Kopi-af-PhotoBy_Olof-Ringmar.jpg?w=256&h=275&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1626166820&s=9ed85b46bcbc84ba176b37363c9eb559 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Journal/Kopi-af-PhotoBy_Olof-Ringmar.jpg?w=128&h=137&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1626166820&s=a2cd23bbf30f9339e45dae60ab73c0af 128w)
Ophelia Rolf is a Stockholm-based gallery girl and freelance writer. She studied Art History and History of Ideas at Stockholm University and is currently gallery manager at Gallery Steinsland Berliner.