Snailing (Slippy Slimy Slug Slut), 2024

Canal Projects presents, Snailing (Slippy slimy slug slut), the first solo institutional show in New York by Korean-born, Berlin-based artist Anne Duk Hee Jordan, which makes the world of the famous snail, Jeremy, the centerpiece of her immersive installation. Jeremy was a sinistral garden snail, which is a rare condition where their shell coiled to the left, rather than the right, as a vast majority of snail shells do. Snails mate face-to-face, sliding past each other on the right side so their genitals can meet. Since Jeremy’s shell coiled to the left, so did their genitals and thus, Jeremy needed to find another sinistral snail to procreate. Inspired by Jeremy’s quest for partnership Jordan created an immersive environment to reflect upon his extraordinary life and exercise the promise of interspecies knowledge building. Upon entering this space, visitors encounter areas where human and snail habitats merge. Long columns of curtains arranged like the spiral of a snail’s shell create enclosures filled with salad-leaf pillows, live plants, and robotic snails, encouraging visitors to slow down and experience life at a snail’s pace, promoting a sense of shared existence and mutual care. Through Jeremy’s story and the unique qualities of snail sexuality, Jordan continues her exploration of “sex ecologies,” pushing against western, patriarchal norms of sexual understanding to highlight the exuberant sexual possibilities and survival strategies of the more-than-human world. Jeremy’s journey from isolation to finding a mate is paralleled by the moments of kinship between human visitors and robotic snails in the exhibition. Jordan’s fixation with Jeremy and the reproductive practices of snails serves as a continuation of her long standing artistic exploration of the lives of other species. Her exhibition The Worm: Terrestrial, Fantastic and Wet at Urania Berlin in 2021 involved luminescent effects and large tunnels to recreate the insides of worms. For Ziggy and the Starfish (2016-2022), a sculptural video environment, she studied the sex life of marine species, especially those that are non-binary, illuminating the exuberant sexual possibilities and survival strategies that make us, humans, look rather prudish and inexperienced. Now, at Canal Projects, visitors will follow Jeremy’s story from a scientific curiosity to a symbol of biodiversity and the importance of preserving unique species. Observing these artificial snails and learning about Jeremy’s story can teach humans about patience, resilience, and the smaller, often overlooked aspects of nature, underlining the importance of communication between species.

Special thanks to alexander levy and James Voorhies Sound: Sasha Perera Production & Design: Andrea Macias-Yañez Glass Vessels: Grace Whiteside