exercises of care – Cecilie Mark

The exhibition exercises of care dives into an understanding of nature and coexistence that explores the possibility of interspecies encounters in a world of grief and disruption.

The exhibited works are grounded in reflections about the ethics of care  - and explores this topic with curiosity towards how care as a relational practise and mutual exercise in everyday life across species, sustain the existence of what we know as life fundamentally. 

As we revolve around a critique of the way human relationships with other bodies  and materiality are dominated by a western, anthropocentric ontology and world order, we need to change direction. Anthropocentrism as the basis for the hierarchization of plants, animals and land places these categories of existence lower than humans themselves. As a consequence of these hierarchies we now inhabit a world characterized by deterioration, climate change and a biodiversity crisis.

It is time for erasing these boundaries. In the exhibition, new systems emerge. Sculptures of broken potsherds are assembled into new hybrid structures that create new conditions for growth. A fallen tree trunk has been removed from its familiar environment and processed by human hands and industrial tools. Only the shadows of the possible connections it might have had with other species remain. Fragile structures of branches are insistently held together. A tapestry of roots from wheat grass interweaves with fragments of sheets of medication. It is the sign of a new common condition; contamination runs through our blood, through the vessel of the plant. Nothing is pure, nothing is feral. The question then is: How can we care in a shattered world?

In a moment of naivety - if we can meet and foster care beyond human understanding, is there then a chance of taking true responsibility? The realization that life irrefutably is coexistence becomes the foundation of an understanding of empathy and not just a sustainable world, but also a more livable future.

Opening

13th of February 17.00-20.00
 

Opening hours

Wednesday – Friday 12.00-18.00
Saturday – Sunday 12.00-16.00

13th of February – 28th of February, 2026
or by appointment via cec [dot] m4rk [at] gmail [dot] com (cec[dot]m4rk[at]gmail[dot]com)

Gallery KHM1
Friisgatan 15B
Malmö

The Master's programme in Fine Arts (MFA) is a two-year graduate programme which includes presenting a solo exhibition at the Academy's gallery.