Anna Frijstein
Declaration
I’m a Dutch artist whose practice not only transgresses national borders but also artistic disciplines including live and video performance, sculpture, print and installation. My artistic research is grounded in Psychology, Philosophy and Science with the focus on our planet’s ecology. I believe that if art is to be relevant to society and the environment, it needs to move beyond a traditional art context and actively engage with societies and the ecosystems they inhabit. For example, in the work HoPPy DaZe (Royal College of Art, 2019) I provocatively indicated that climate change is not an ecological problem but a social issue. Speaking on behalf of angry Mother Earth I demanded people to share their most intimate feelings with everyone present during the performance. This made it a socially challenging but profoundly moving experience for all. The work opened up a wider discussion with people’s personal experiences facing climate change. I don’t like to hold back in confronting people with themselves and instructs all of us, through comical tutorial-like performances, to think, talk and behave differently. Besides my art projects, I hope to carry out a pedagogical role as an artist and an advocate of a sustainable future to bring environmental challenges into the widespread social realm.