Tori Wrånes is known for her ambitious and surreal performances involving sound, prosthetics and make-up, props, kinetic sculpture, architecture, and multiple choreographed performers. She explores myths and folklore through dreamlike narratives. Presented in Intersecting Selves is a series of photographs that is based on her past performances featuring various characters and avatars. These photographs are paired with new audio work—structured as a call and response—that scatter voices and song throughout the gallery. Wrånes has developed a unique method of communication coined as “troll language.” Using sound to convey primal emotions and truths, the artist bypasses the structural hierarchies of language and rational thought. For Wrånes, the troll is a metaphor for the id and human fate alike; it represents our hidden truths. The result is a wide-ranging, experimental, and ritualistic practice that freely draws on ancient stories and contemporary struggles to speak to the human experience of past and present.

Based on the performance STONE and SINGER, at the 19th Biennale of Sydney 2014. Wrånes sings into the tale and the voice comes out of a giant rock pendulum above her head. Photo: Tomas Glans