Nieuwe Instituut
Nieuwe Instituut

Sonneveld House

What Doesn't Kill You

In this performative lecture, Inès Leverrier Péborde explores toxic substances. She will reconstruct an age-old panacea and reveal how the meaning of poison has evolved over time.

3 August 2019 16:00 - 17:00

Sébastien Stoskopff, Vanitas with a vase of Theriac, 1627. Koetser Gallery Zurich.

"Whether it is the pharmacist who, in 1602, decanted a few drops of snake venom into a jar in public on a Venetian square, or the current production of synthetic drugs in secret laboratories, the preparation of medicines and drugs is always accompanied by curiosity, suspicion and excitement. When is something a poison, and when a cure? What if a poison becomes the cure and vice versa? The fear of - and obsession with - poison is deeply rooted in our collective psyche, and it was one of the greatest drivers of medical discoveries. Meanwhile, it has shaped our relationship to nature, spirituality, conspiracies, body politics and our intimate relationship with otherness."

Inès Leverrier Péborde

Inès Leverrier Péborde is a French-Haïtian designer based in Rotterdam whose work focuses on embodied experiences and (self) care practices. She investigates what it means to take care of the Self and imagines various artefacts, spaces and rituals for curing, reshaping, transcending physical and emotional bodies. Using performative objects and spatial interventions, she challenges societal values, myths and techno-scientific paradigms underlying our common understanding of health, beauty, hygiene and well-being.

Project

Nieuwsbrief

Ontvang als eerste uitnodigingen voor onze events en blijf op de hoogte van komende tentoonstellingen.