Zheng Bo Gets Intimate—and Political—with Plants

In Zheng Bo’s video Le Sacre du printemps (Tandvärkstallen) (2021–22), naked men gyrate passionately against trees in a verdant forest. They writhe and moan in ecstasy. At midpoint, the camera turns upside down as the men drop to the ground; what was frenzy dissipates into serenity as they lie still, their bodies melting onto the mossy floor. Zheng composed this 16-minute dance and film piece, currently on view at the 59th Venice Biennale, in collaboration with five Nordic dance