Anima: Ode to a Monster
curated  by danniel tostes and lari medawar
11.01 - 08.02.2025
Zabriske
Rdpt de Plainpalais, Geneva
Jonas Van & Juno B






Anima: Ode to a Monster is an installation based on the intersections between Mary Shelley's classic of horror/science fiction literature "Frankenstein" (1818) and the poetic of physical interventions on trans bodies, working on the materiality and practicality of ex votos, to ward off the construction of desired bodies.

Based on research into the creation of an archive and memory of the creature conceived by Dr. Victor Frankenstein, notably a being that has not been properly named beyond the adjectives "monster", "demon", "creature", artists Jonas Van and Juno B use visionary fiction, tarot, ex votos and excerpts from Shelley's work and James Whale's horror film "Frankenstein" (1931) to propose a poetic atmosphere in an exhibition format where a series of elements are imagined as magical objects for a conjuration of desired bodies, with monstrosity as premise, whether through scars on the skin from plastic surgery or metal human organs as ex voto devices.

The exhibition underlines the importance of materiality and monstrous poetics in the construction of trans bodies, offering another perspective on the Frankenstein story at as a powerful metaphor for the importance of desire for a body and a community.


ph: Théa Giglio