Virginia Guerra Saldivar | staff writer 

Can the body move beyond gender, beyond society’s establishment of normal and beyond what is imaginable? This is something that Colombian and Montreal-resident artist Andrea Peña hopes viewers ask themselves as they visit the exhibit “State of Transmutation.”

Located in the contemporary art museum, the Mattress Factory, “States of Transmutation” is an installation created in 2023 by Peña. Her work is known for mixing elements of the dance world into performative, digital and sculptural works to create living art universes, according to materials distributed by the museum.

Upon first entering the exhibit, visitors are greeted by a big metallic frame — the installation’s main piece. Inside it, a piece of faux flesh hangs by metal chains and two arm-like limbs that help it shift closer and farther apart.

In the other part of the room, other pieces of flesh, broken pieces of concrete and transparent body-like parts complement and bounce off each other, tied to the ceiling with the same type of restraints.

The remainder of the exhibit is made from metal, silicone, motors, LED screens, chains, tubing, concrete and even uses elements like sound and water to immerse the public and encourage them to reflect on their own body.

“The chains and definitely the flesh of bodies hanging around set a specific tone to the room,” said Aklilu Blumber-Woll, first-time visitor of the contemporary museum.

Accompanying the exhibit on Nov. 9 was Slowdanger, a dancing duo consisting of Anna Thompson and Taylor Knight.

During a 45-minute performance to the rhythm of periodic mechanical sounds, they slowly contracted their bodies and weaved through the public and the installation.

At one point, Knight was hanging upside down, connected to the piece by a harness and supporting chains. Thompson reached out and connected to them, bending their bodies in every possible combination of flexibility and physical strength.

They ended the contemporary dance with an embrace as the audience applauded their intimate performance.

“Rehearsals were a lot of looking at different forms … [and] how the labored body shapes naturally and finding that tension with each other through the cables and the chains, but also through touch and vision tension releases,” Knight said.

While the physical exposition was built, Slowdanger worked with Peña to build the physicality and conditions for the dance to take place.

“We were like, ‘Oh, we’re like the same species,’” Thompson said.

“We have a way of understanding performance work coming from these dance backgrounds, but trying to break the kind of codified containers, being more multidisciplinary in the way that we work, working in an alternate space with DIY esthetics. … For me, it was … a synergistic practice that has deeply informed and empowered ways that [Slowdanger] were already working in our own practice.”

According to the artist’s statement, Peña aimed to spark a conversation regarding the queer experience, challenging the physicality of the body itself.

Because “States of Transmutation” is all about reflection and how an individual fits in a bigger work of art, she wanted to represent how self-expression evolves through a person’s environment.

Peña was selected by an artist panel to create this exhibit through the Mattress Factory’s International Open Call in 2021 for artists-in-residence, said Visitor Experience Manager Joe Praksti.

Through this method, the artist selected has the opportunity to explore their creative process while living and working in Pittsburgh’s Northside. The Mattress Factory helps the resident artist by providing aid in the art’s production, installation and exhibition.

“Artists are chosen not based on a proposal of what they want to do, but on their portfolio, so that when they arrive, they can check out the space and then be inspired by that, as opposed to having an idea before they get here.”

Through a balanced mixture of humanity and technology, the topic of harmony and individuality can be seen coursing through dissonance in today’s industrialized world.

Knight talked about how, as queer people, doing these types of performances can help them process grief and emotions better.

“I’m really grateful for Andrea for the trust and for inviting us into the work and giving us space, giving us guidance and frameworks to move with, but also giving us space to be ourselves within it.”

While Slowdanger is not slated to perform again before the end of “States of Mutation,” the exhibit can be seen at the Mattress Factory until Dec. 29. Discounted tickets are available to students who present a valid student ID.