Subserotic Bulge (2021)
Digital video, 17′42″, captions (English), audio described
In 2019 an iron meteorite was filed to dust, stirred into cream, and fed to 36 people. Flis’s uterus was rife with tumours soon after. Their belly swelled as a fleshy block pushed its way out at astonishing speed. From the first poke of a finger, to WebMD, to x-rays, every diagnostic tool came up short. But Flis’s telling of it is rather different to the medical notes.
The video asks about diagnosis, and how certain people’s testimony is dismissed as unreliable. From meteorite falls to trans experiences of the medical system, it’s a documentary that slips into sci-fi – and it’s not always clear which part is which.
Commissioned by Frame Contemporary Art Finland
Supported by Taike
Distributed by AV-arkki
Bio
Flis Holland (FI/UK) uses sci-fi to find new ways to talk about crisis. They work with live performance, video, and access tools.