P.K 6 PACK
'Today, our bodies and minds can feel increasingly controlled by forces outside of ourselves, whether they are technological or social.'
P.K. Your work is an amalgamation of digital elements, classic nodes of sculpture and installation, there is a pronounced techno organic fetishistic quality which is seductive. Is that intersection of physicality, technology and the digital something to fear or embrace as a form of transformative liberation from our bodies? Can the human body be viewed as a meat prison in such a hyper technological time? Is this an escapist fantasy which has the potential to be something more sinister?
T.H:I think there are both utopian and dystopian aspects. I am not sure anything could be as horrifying as the prospect of artificial intelligence being developed with no ethical concern for what it may do to us. It is a matter of who is controlling and shaping the transformation. It needs to be open and democratic. Today, our bodies and minds can feel increasingly controlled by forces outside of ourselves, whether they are technological or social. Any possibilities that are given to humankind we have a choice of utilizing it for good or evil, and we have proven to be quite capable of both. It can be a beacon of liberation or a weapon of oppression and destruction.
P.K: In your Work ‘Void If Tampered’, body fragments appear as biomechanical constructs. How do you think people’s perceptions of physical and psychological identity transpose corporeal and digital states?
T.H: In my opinion, there is a similarity in our perception of the world. We know that the data our senses receive from our bodies are manipulated through a complex web of neurological processes to integrate with what we expect to see and feel, to create an idea of what is real. We are not as objective as we think we are. Our sense of identity and reality is increasingly mediated by information technology.
PK: What do you think people perceive as fetishism in a hyper technological age we live in? Does it come as a subliminal need, or does it transgress along with the times intertwined with social changes?
T.H: Most religions are based around an ultimate object of veneration that appears to be beyond human control, which we can only approach through ritualistic behavior and sacrifice. It would be simplistic to say all these things are just a natural expression of the human condition rather than something that is socially learned and culturally reinforced over time.
I think there is a move away from generalization for most people. We have become more specific in what we want. There is more to be desired than what we can have, and I believe this desire drives us forward. As society changes, so will its fetishes.
P.K Can you make a prediction about something current that you think will be cringeworthy in a few years?
That is tough, it seems we are wired to enjoy the things that eventually will repulse us. With the expanding acceleration of technology and information, I imagine everything, and anything runs a risk of becoming subject to cringe in the future. From current trends to inherent flaws in the system, and the very nature of humanity itself.
P.K. Could you give us some insight on your studio process? How do you usually go about turning your ideas and conceptual stuff into material reality?
The decisions I make in my practice across the processes and techniques I use are closely linked to the content of my work. It starts with an intuitive attraction to surfaces, and textures. Both real-life and imagined. My workflow often comprises taking an object or subject from the actual world, 3D scanning it before transferring it to the software, which allows me to perform experiments through the virtual realm. Manipulation of objects and materials embodies a sense of fantasy or play where I often refer to physical presences and characteristics of surrounding objects, nature, and beyond.
Through printing, video projection, sculpture casting, and textile, the final artworks are now hybrid objects, made real through the process. Materiality and tactility are intrinsic to my work — it encourages the viewer to sense and engage with it to understand its content and meaning. This approach creates a hybrid presence of both virtual and real worlds that allows me to question, explore, and undermine the binaries through technology and materiality. To challenge authority and raising questions about the structures of power. To explore the borders of us and them, us and another, us and the other.
P.K: Have you got something you can boast about?
T.H: The last year has granted me serval opportunities that I am grateful for. I have had the chance to contribute to publications I respect and admire, I have been featured in exciting and inspiring exhibitions, and in late 2020 I was nominated for an artist award and exhibited with other well-established contemporary artists at SKMU The Southern Norway Art Museum.
