Steegmann Mangrané’s new outdoor installation, La Pensée Férale (2021), brings into question our position in the world – eroding the Western conceptions of being that separate the world into opposing dualisms, for example, nature and culture. The tree trunk at its centre is a scanned replica of a Pau Rei, a native tree of the Brazilian Mata Atlántica, imbedded with the eye of an Indian pariah dog from Bangladesh. Surrounded by a newly planted forest of black beeches, the work raises questions about subjectivity and our attitude towards our environment, reinforcing that nature is not without perception or feeling.

Presented in the UK for the first time, Steegmann Mangrané’s film Fog Dog (2020) is the artist’s first foray into cinematic storytelling. Premiered at the Dhaka Art Summit 2020, the film is a documentation of daily life at the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka. Through different narratives – of colonial violence, bodily knowledge, environmental degradation and the stray and phantom dogs which live at the Institute – the film highlights how multiple worlds are interconnected.

Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial with Art Fund support, and the assistance of Bury Art Museum. Additional support received from Acción Cultural Española (AC/E).

in Liverpool Biennial 2021