Anicka Yi in “Bodies of Knowledge”

Unorthodox, volatile, aromatic materials are a staple of artist Anicka Yi’s practice, using living matter like bacteria or worms, medical tools like ultrasound gel, and everyday substances like glycerin soap. The film documents how Yi runs her studio like a laboratory, developing hypotheses, testing them in small trials, and bringing in experts to help refine her ideas and bring them to life. Across her works, Yi balances perishability and permanence, recognizing the ways in which change and destruction are necessary components of monumentality and memory, and essential to human life.