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Stine Deja

Last Resort: Exploring cryonics through art

Death is a certainty of the human condition and a cycle that has been repeated throughout history with no exceptions. But what if, in the future, scientists are able to overcome this ultimate inevitability and cure the world’s most dangerous condition: mortality?

The human quest for eternal life is a timeless pursuit: the ancient Mesopotamian poem, «The Epic of Gilgamesh» (c. 2,100 BC) tells the tale of the title character’s search for his own immortality; the Egyptians famously mummified their elite to preserve their bodies for use in the afterlife; while through antiquity and the middle ages the ultimate goal for alchemists was the philosopher's stone (also known as the elixir of youth) a potion that would supposedly grant its drinker eternal youth.

While cryogenics has been the subject of science fiction for over a century, in the realm of science fact, human cryopreservation is actually not such a new phenomenon; with Dr. James Bedford becoming the first body frozen in cryogenic suspension in 1967. This modern quest for eternal life through cryopreservation has been the focus of Stine Deja’s recent work (Thermal Womb, 2019 and Cold Sleep, 2020). To date, worldwide
approximately 400 whole bodies (and even more human heads and beloved pets) are immersed in liquid nitrogen optimistically waiting for science to catch up so that they can be brought back to life. In her keynote Deja will open up her research into these themes through the lens of her artistic practice.

Born in Denmark in 1986 and currently based in Copenhagen, Stine Deja received her MA from Royal College of Art and her BA from Kolding School of Design. Deja’s practice is concerned with the architecture of human lives and what shapes and influences human development. What does it mean to be a human in the
technological age and can/should we, through technology, alter the natural cycle of life?

Keynote speaker:
Stine Deja

When?
November 11th, 2021
5:30 to 6:00 pm

Where?
Kino Toni, 3.G02
Toni-Areal
Zurich University of the Arts

Websites:
stinedeja.com

Ticket:
Get your ticket here.

Portrait: Stine Deja.
Portrait: Stine Deja.
«Thermal Womb» by Stine Deja. Installation view from «Last Resort» at Annka Kultys Gallery.
«Thermal Womb» by Stine Deja. Installation view from «Last Resort» at Annka Kultys Gallery.
«Thermal Womb» by Stine Deja. Installation view from «Last Resort» at Annka Kultys Gallery.
«Thermal Womb» by Stine Deja. Installation view from «Last Resort» at Annka Kultys Gallery.
«Thermal Womb» by Stine Deja. Installation view from «Last Resort» at Annka Kultys Gallery.
«Thermal Womb» by Stine Deja. Installation view from «Last Resort» at Annka Kultys Gallery.