Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.
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Beth Stephens, Annie Sprinkle, US
Dirt Bed, 2012/22, © Beth Stephens & Annie Sprinkle. Photo © Manifesta 14 Prishtina / Majlinda Hoxha.
In 2008, Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle married the Earth. So fertile was their green forest wedding, that it gave birth to a whole new movement: ecosexuality. When it comes to saving the planet, Eros and love, so they argue, are more powerful – and more fun – than fear.
The first wedding was followed by others: a blue wedding to the sky, a purple wedding to the moon, a white wedding to the snow and many more. Each time Stephens and Sprinkle took their vows to love, honour and cherish a different part of the cosmos, their wedding guests joined them in doing so.
The weddings were documented on video and in photographs, while the full trajectory of the movement – from manifestos and performances to love art labs – is catalogued in their recent monograph. What does it feel like to cultivate an erotic relationship to the earth, to take the earth as a lover? Their Dirt Bed is a good place to find out.