Sophie Hoyle is an artist and writer whose practice explores an intersectional approach to post-colonial, queer, feminist, critical psychiatry and disability issues. Their work looks at the relation of the personal to (and as) political, individual and collective anxieties, and how alliances can be formed where different kinds of inequality and marginalisation intersect. They relate personal experiences of being queer, non-binary and part of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) diaspora to wider forms of structural violence. From lived experience of disability and mental illness including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), they began to explore the history of biomedical technologies and treatments that overlap with state and military control.
Hyperacusis
Two new films were made as part of a residency at Antre Peaux; one was made remotely in London, UK in February and the other in Bourges, France in April. They address experiences of mental illness, and navigating healthcare services and treatments in both the UK and France. The films explore experiences of alienation and social marginalisation due to race, culture and gender, and develop discussions around trans-cultural mental health services and linguistic and cultural translation. One of the films was made in Ursulab, a new biohacking lab that has opened at Antre Peaux, which is used to explore Western scientific constructs and narratives around migration, race and the categorisation of social groups.
Content Warning: Contain images of an incision, bleeding wounds and blood samples being used in a lab setting.
This work was realised within the framework of the European Media Art Platforms (EMAP) programme at Antre Peaux (ex Bandits Mages) (FR) with support of the Creative Europe Culture Programme of the European Union.
