Chloé Wise Takes a Trip Into the Unknown in ‘Extrasensory’
From alien encounters to divine apparitions, the KBH.G. show asks: are we alone?
Summary
- Artist Chloe Wise presents Extrasensory at Basel’s KBH.G museum, open through September 6
- The exhibition features three immersive spaces created around her new film, PsyFi*, which explores humanity’s centuries-long fascination with the extraterrestrial unknown
There’s now a portal between Area 51 and Basel; we have Chloe Wise to thank. An esoteric roadside shop makes a fitting opening for her new solo exhibition at Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger. Extrasensory is her go at finding meaning in the unexplainable. UFO paraphernalia, religious hangings, tarot decks, and alien souvenirs rest beside prayer candles complete with the stars of the show’s central film, PsyFi* — JT, Miles Greenberg, and Moses Sumney. If they’re her angels, consider us believers.
On through September 6, the presentation explores humanity’s long-standing love affair with the unknown, marking the Canadian artist’s first show in the country, with her most ambitious cinematic undertaking in tow. Curated by Samuel Leuenberger, it includes three immersive spaces and a publication, all revolving around the new film.
Photo: Logan White
Photo: Logan White
Photo: Logan White
Photo: Logan White
Photo: Logan White
PsyFi* gathers an impressive cast of collaborators, each their own embodiment of metaphysical phenomena. The likes of Lucas Bravo, Greenberg, and Sumney are joined by the City Girls star playing Satan’s ex-wife, Martine Syms and Martine Gutierrez appear as (Victoria’s Secret) angels, while Wise, herself, shapeshifts into a wide-eyed alien. Produced by GUMMY Films, the project plays on religious revelation and extraterrestrial mythology, suggesting that divine apparitions aren’t so different than today’s stories of non-human intelligence.
“I’m interested in re-enchantment,” says the artist, “in finding the parallels between science fiction and divinity.”
Beyond the souvenir shop and multi-channel viewing installation, a third environment blurs the lines between green room and spaceship, like a backstage place of worship, proposing belief as a product of cultural, mythical, and social circulation, rather than a fixed system.
Learn more about how to visit at the museum’s website.
Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger
Spitalstrasse 18,
4056 Basel,
Switzerland
