The title Anatomy is Destiny, a direct reference to the psycho-theory of Sigmund Freud, invokes the highly controversial theories that form the foundation of the psychosexual development of young boys and girls known as the Oedipus complex. This work consists of two components: the installation of garments called The Wardrobe: Game in Waiting and the full-scale performance in which performers don the garments and execute the moves of an imaginary chess match between Marcel Duchamp and his infamous female alter ego Rrose Sélavy that was envisioned by the artist Arman in 1972. Inspired by a diverse array of historical military fashions and constructed of linen backed with cotton, each garment in the wardrobe was designed by Lifánova to restrict the movement of the performer in such a way that approximates the respective movements of that piece on the game board.
Anatomy is Destiny, Part 1, 21:52
Anatomy is Destiny, Part 2, 10:04
Q & A, Bradley Bailey and Liliya Lifánova
Performers Enter
Kings, Matthew Lane and Karen Jones, before the Match
Knights, Daniel Beerman and Robbie Haupt, 5. N-K5/N-KB3
King, Rook, and Bishop on the Black side
View from the Balcony at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
Kings, Matthew Lane and Karen Jones, 40. KxP/K-Q3
Liliya Lifánova, artist
An American born in Kyrgyzstan, Lifánova’s matrix of influence developed out of the ongoing political and socio-economic reforms of the former Soviet nation of her birth, as well as the traditional nomadic lifestyle and customs of the Kyrgyz Land. In 2010, Lifánova received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was a nominee for the Claire Rosen and Samuel Edes Foundation Art Prize. In 2011, Lifánova was the recipient of a Fulbright fellowship to Russia and an artist residency in Spain, where she worked on a video project at the Center for Research and Creativity Casamarlés (CeRCCa) in Llorenç del Penédes and at La Fragua, Cordoba exploring transience and nomadism.
Bisaro spent her childhood in rural British Columbia, Canada. She began dancing as an adult living in Oxford, England. Bisaro earned her degree in dance at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts in Vancouver. She has recently relocated to Toronto, Ontario, after living and working in Chicago for two years. In Chicago, she choreographed and performed in diverse spaces, creating work for both trained and untrained movers. Bisaro has also collaborated with artists in a number of different mediums, including sculpture, textile, video, and new media.
