Pakui Hardware's Baltic Exhibition Explores Biopower and Bodily Futures
The Lithuanian artist duo Pakui Hardware, consisting of Neringa Černiauskaite and Ugnius Gelguda, showcases 'Virtual Care' at Baltic in Gateshead from May until October 3. Their installations critique the concepts of biopower and capitalist extraction by simulating medical and laboratory settings. In 2019, they presented 'Underbelly' at Leipzig's MDBK, which included thermoformed plastic shapes and silicone arteries. Their work 'Extrakorporal,' created between 2018 and 2020, features organic glass forms combined with animal furs. In 2020, they unveiled 'Absent Touch' at Berlin's Carlier / Gebauer, portraying a surreal operating room. Influenced by figures like Eva Hesse, they reference Deleuze and Harari's 'Homo Deus' and cultural pieces such as 'Soylent Green,' exploring themes of bodily interventionism and technological integration.
Key facts
- Pakui Hardware is a Lithuanian artist duo formed in 2014 by Neringa Černiauskaite and Ugnius Gelguda.
- Their exhibition 'Virtual Care' runs at Baltic in Gateshead from May to 3 October.
- In 2019, they installed 'Underbelly' at Museum der Bildenden Künste (MDBK) in Leipzig.
- Their work incorporates materials like thermoformed plastic, colored glass, silicone, and chia seeds.
- They reference thinkers such as Gilles Deleuze and Yuval Noah Harari in exploring biopower and futurism.
- Installations like 'Absent Touch' at Carlier / Gebauer in Berlin critique remote healthcare and AI diagnostics.
- The artists draw aesthetic inspiration from Postminimalist artists including Eva Hesse and Lynda Benglis.
- Their themes include the quantified self, genetic engineering, and the intersection of technology and the human body.
Entities
Artists
- Neringa Černiauskaite
- Ugnius Gelguda
- Pakui Hardware
- Gilles Deleuze
- Yuval Noah Harari
- Paul Thek
- Lee Lozano
- Eva Hesse
- Lynda Benglis
- Alina Szapocznikow
- Joachim Bandau
- Andy Warhol
Institutions
- Baltic
- Museum der Bildenden Künste (MDBK)
- Carlier / Gebauer
- NGBK Berlin
- Artreview
Locations
- Gateshead
- United Kingdom
- Leipzig
- Germany
- Berlin
- Lithuania
- Oahu
- United States