A certain insect bites the nervous centers of a caterpillar to paralyze it and thus serve as a meal for its descendants who will hatch eggs that it lays next to it. He dies, this act is done. The praying mantis kills the male who impregnated it. In a few words, Medium is the Message is a choreography-performance of extremes, of our life and death impulses. I will paint a moving picture of chimeric, animal and human scenes of our society from being of desire to being for death. Body sacrificed in resistance expressing our violent and carnal impulses. Eros & Thanatos gathered in a body ready to explode at any moment. Transformations of the body, call of the trance and modified states of consciousness, working procedures that I use to transmit to the public a powerful and brutal physical discourse of our relationship to violence, whether internal and/or external.

About artist：

Anne Rochat was born in 1982 in Vallée de Joux, Switzerland. Prior to her studies at Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL), she travelled widely in Asia, In 2011-2012, she took up an art residence in Varanasi. India, followed by a year long stint at the Swiss Institute in Rome (ISR). She has been awarded many notable prizes including Prix Irène Reymond(2013), Prix Kiefer Hablitzel (2012), Bourse culturelle du Canton de Vaud (2011), Bourse culturelle de la Fondation Leenaards (2010), Swiss Awards, Art Basel (2010).

Anne Rochat positions the human body at the centre of her artistic work, a body flexible and strong, subtle and athletic, wild and acrobatic. Her postures are incongruous and a little absurd and lead her into offbeat situations, she expresses herself with forbidden gestures we can only dream of engaging in ourselves. The artist takes her position through actions both sensual and powerful, mellow and savage, disturbing, sometimes funny and always informed by rigouruous aesthetic discipline. Spectacular without being a spectacle, the live art performances of Anne Rochat invite us to marvel.

Participate in：

Due to the limited space, the event has an application for registration. For the registration method, please subscribe Surplus Space public account, and reply “name + contact number + performance”. The deadline for registration is March 8th am12:00.  Please attend on time to the actitivity at 403 International Art Center, No. 33, Baotongsi Road, Wuhan. At that time, the audience watching the show will also have the opportunity to participate in the artist interactive workshop to be held on the afternoon of March 10th.

About Pro Helvetia Shanghai：

Pro Helvetia is dedicated to the promotion of contemporary cultural works of national and international interest. It also fosters co-productions or exchanges between Swiss artists and artists from other countries, in particular from countries where Pro Helvetia has a regional office.

Pro Helvetia Shanghai is founded in 2010 and represents the Swiss Arts Council in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Its aim is to encourage dialogue between Swiss and Chinese cultural practitioners and institutions by supporting projects that enhance the exchange of knowledge and experience in the cultural field.