Cannupa Hanska Luger | Uŋziwoslal Wašičuta | Whitney Biennial 2024 | Artist Interview

Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota) proposes: “This installation is not inverted . . . our current world is upside down.” For the artist, upending our grounding in time and space makes way for imagined futures free of colonialism and capitalism, where broader Indigenous knowledge can thrive. The work here, Uŋziwoslal Wašičuta (a Lakota phrase meaning “the fat-taker’s world is upside down”), celebrates Native technologies by using the shape of a tipi—a word that the artist has also turned into an acronym, standing for Transportable Intergenerational Protection Infrastructure (TIPI). Luger looks at the complex structure as an example of the innovations created by his ancestors of the Northern Plains tribes. Luger’s materials, such as deadstock fabric, found objects, and clay, reflect the artist’s commitment to sustainability and reuse. The featured work, Uŋziwoslal Wašičuta (from the series Future Ancestral Technologies), 2021– is featured in the current edition of the Whitney Biennial. The 2024 Whitney Biennial is organized by Chrissie Iles, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Curator and Meg Onli, Curator at Large, with Min Sun Jeon and Beatriz Cifuentes. The performance program is organized by Iles and Onli, with guest curator Taja Cheek. The film program is organized by Iles and Onli, with guest curators Korakrit Arunanondchai, asinnajaq, Greg de Cuir Jr, and Zackary Drucker. See the full artist list and learn more at https://whitney.org/exhibitions/2024-biennial. Book tickets here: https://whitney.org/tickets #whitneybiennial #contemporaryart #whitneymuseum #cannupahanskaluger #UŋziwoslalWašičuta #sculpture #installation #installationart #artistinterviews #artistinterview #2024whitneybiennial