Anne Duk Hee Jordan

Anne Duk Hee Jordan

Ziggy and the Starfish, 2016-2017

Single-channel video installation, color, sound

16 min 28 sec

TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection

Anne Duk Hee Jordan’s Ziggy and the Starfish is a visually lush and thematically daring exploration of queerness, transformation, and adaptation in the marine world. Named after David Bowie’s fictional persona Ziggy Stardust—an androgynous, apocalyptic figure from outer space—the film proposes a poetic and speculative encounter between human imagination and oceanic life. Ziggy, though never physically present, becomes a narrative and symbolic anchor for the work, embodying the fluidity and alien beauty of marine species whose sexualities challenge human norms.

Filmed during a period of intensive research and diving along the Basque coast, the work incorporates footage of marine organisms such as sea slugs, sponges, octopuses, and starfish. These creatures—some capable of changing sex, reproducing asexually, or regenerating entire bodies—illustrate a biological reality that is inherently non-binary and in constant flux. Through vibrant close-ups and hypnotic sequences, the film draws viewers into a hallucinatory world where scientific fact merges with sensual storytelling.

Accompanied by a dynamic original soundtrack created in collaboration with Nevo Ron, the film oscillates between tension and playfulness, shifting from classical compositions to retro erotic soundscapes. The audio-visual interplay deepens the surreal and seductive tone of the piece, inviting viewers to reconsider assumptions about nature, gender, and desire.

Ziggy and the Starfish offers a speculative ecology where mutation and adaptation are not only biological imperatives but also metaphors for resilience, queerness, and the necessity of reimagining relationships between species in the age of climate crisis.

CURRENTLY ON VIEW:

Group show: Becoming Ocean: a social conversation about the ocean

Venue: Villa Arson, Nice

Curator: Hélène Guenin, Chus Martínez, Sébastien Ruiz,and Marie-Ann Yemsi

Datee: 8 May 2025 -  24 August 2025

The exhibition is part of the program for the Nice Biennial of Arts and the Ocean, organized by the City of Nice as part of the United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC3) to be held in Nice from June 9 to 13, 2025.

PAST EXHIBITIONS:

Group show: Liquid Intelligence

Curator:  Chus Martínez with Soledad Gutiérrez and María Montero Sierra,

Venue: National Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Date: October 10, 2023 – January 28, 2024