A.K. Burns: Shabby But Thriving

A.K. Burns’s serial work draws on theatre, science fiction, philosophy, and ecological anxieties. The project is organised around five elements: power (the sun), water, land, void, and body.

Here, Burns premieres a new two-channel video staged within an installation that explores the subjugation and agency of various bodies. It was filmed in the New Museum’s 231 Bowery building: moving from the basement through the stairwells (partially renovated and often bearing relics of previous eras) and into a series of found and constructed interiors, it treats the entire building as both a stage and a metaphorical body. Furniture and props likewise act as both benign objects and political subjects.