Exuvie

by Janna Yotte

Main Gallery
August 11
- September 1, 2022

Exuvie : a French word evoking the skins left behind by certain animals following a physical metamorphosis, commonly known as moulting.

The body is a human envelope that unveils itself as the ultimate archive, in constant evolution.
Retaining tons of information, encoding it in complex and profound ways, it goes far deeper than what our intellectual memory allows us to approach or accept.

This body guides and carries us. But besides being an obvious vehicle, why is it offered to us? And, above all, why do we have such a complex relationship, fear and even disgust for our own inner machine?

Obsessive curiosity and finding answers to these questions is what consumes Janna Yotte. Using collage as a means of representation, she highlights the crucial research of medicine and biology. Her meticulous selection and rigorous arrangement of images and prints serve as raw material for creation, revealing the interdependence between the fields of art and science. The human envelope reveals its story, one organ at a time.

Without delineated borders, when it’s not clear where the human body ends and an exterior form begins, fragments of what’s human can merge with other beings, forming a new creature. When this happens, we may expand our awareness if we choose to meet them, integrating and accepting a new reflection of ourselves or, at the very least, more than we previously knew was part of us.

Joining anatomic imagery in a lineage that is both spiritual and concrete, the serpent is a symbol of venom and death, healing and infinite life, which represents the outside world. The unpredictable snake, at once seductive and frightening, envelops and influences the human body. It is much like unavoidable events beyond our control, imposed upon our flesh, psyches and life itself in order to transform us. By exposing ourselves to the dangers of the outside world, we become open to traumas and miracles. As we need both, overcoming fear of the unknown is essential for all growth.

In other words, submitting to venom is vital.

Hatching mushrooms are the last element in these creations, a result of human organs abandoned and transformed by the influence of the sinuous snakes.

Fungus are living beings emerging from dead matter, a fascinating evolution that can prove to be as fatal as it is mystical. These entities are capable of nourishment, making us dream, alleviating human suffering through spiritual journeys, but also of poisoning us and causing loss.

Connecting with what is sacred and contained by the human form, the results of bringing together bodies, snakes and mushrooms speak to grace and aversion, attraction and repulsion, the beginning and end, life and death. Yotte opens a dialogue about the experience of life that moves in each of us.

To live, we must accept the movement that is inseparable from us, submitting to transformation, evolution and, in a certain way, death in order to be reborn to ourselves each day.

With gentleness, care and attention, the artist attempts to touch the entire living spectrum and directly addresses our feelings, all while honouring the scientific work that precedes her.

Exposing her internal process is what allows others to integrate their own vulnerabilities, knowledge and insights.
Through this dialogue of powerful forces, Yotte gives us permission to see, accept, understand and find peace with our infinite transformations.

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