Stories shape how we see the world. This is one of the central premises of the work of Sophie Allerding (1993). Through interactive installations, video works and participatory projects, she brings stories to life and invites visitors to step into alternative realities.
At Prospects, Allerding presents Songs for the Renewal (2025). This installation evokes the atmosphere of a sacred, ritualized space. It features several ceramic fountains, water whistles and vessels. The installation is interactive: the flow of water from the fountains responds to the sounds produced by the whistles. The figures on the fountains offer clues as to who and what is being venerated here: each fountain depicts one or more women urinating.
For this work, Allerding explored a range of taboos surrounding the female body, one of which concerns the depiction of urinating bodies. In her research, the artist encountered not only social, but also ecological issues. She learned, for example, that the urine of mares –which are kept artificially pregnant in the livestock industry – has resulted in an excess of oestrogen in the environment.
In Songs for the Renewal, Allerding introduces the viewer to the religion of a fictitious civilization of the future. This civilization believes that the world came into being when seven sisters simultaneously squatted to urinate. Here, urination is not a taboo, it is rather celebrated as a sacred cycle that connects our bodies to the rest of the world. Ecology also permeates this narrative: as a result of the oestrogen surplus, this civilization has become profoundly feminized.
Text: Sarah van Binsbergen