Madeline Hollander: Ouroboros: Gs | Whitney Biennial 2019

In this site-specific performances, Ouroboros: Gs, Madeline Hollander choreographs the installation of a portion of the Whitney’s flood mitigation system, collaborating with trained Whitney staff to simultaneously build and dismantle segments that circumnavigate the Museum. The Whitney has been in its current location since 2015 and while flood mitigation was always planned for the site, after waterfront damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Museum invested in a more advanced, protective system. Though essential to the safety of the building, this highly sophisticated barrier is almost never seen, coming and going as needed. Hollander’s choreography mimics this ebb and flow—and that of the nearby river's tides and currents—exploring the ways in which the Museum has had to adapt itself in the face of climate change.