Plastisapiens
Platisapiens is a surrealist work of eco-fiction, an invitation to explore human influence on the environment, and, inversely, an exploration of how the environment affects human evolution. This speculative, playful, and ironic piece imagines a future where plastic and organic life merge to create a new life form. Viewers will journey back into prehistory to discover that they share the same origins as plastic until they finally mutate into Plastisapiens, and discover the Plastosphere.
Miri Chekhanovich is a multi-disciplinary visual artist who blends bio-material research, film, and installation. Born in Armenia, Miri grew up in Jerusalem and immigrated to Canada in 2013. She currently lives and works in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). Her work emerges from what she refers to as a gentle state of emergency, which leads her to make, share, and intervene in public space. The artist is interested in neglected materials, geological history, wounds, and the illusion of time.
Edith Jorisch is a screenwriter and director based in Montreal, known for her work in fiction. After completing her studies in screenwriting and television at UQAM, she directed her first feature-length documentary, “L’héritier(The Heir)”, in 2016. Her video installation “Being-With” was presented by the Phi Center in Montreal, as well as in the Theatre of Virtuallity during the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019. Her bio-material research work is exhibited internationally including at the Hors Piste festival at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2021. Since 2019, Miri works in a duo with the director Edith Jorisch, their first collaboration; “Plastisapiens” presented in a world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival and won the IDFA DocLab Special Jury Award for Creative Technology In 2022. In addition to Plastisapiens, the duo is currently developing a new interactive video installation called “Fruit Opera”.