S Korean Artist Anicka Yi "Life is Cheap" at the Guggenheim-Decay, Destruction & Dysfunction

Anicka Yi (b S Korea 1971) was the recipient of the prestigious 2016 Hugo Boss Prize for her experimental body of work.  Her show "Life is Cheap" at the Guggenheim is either an enigmatic contrast to the major exhibit running simultaneously "Visionaries, Creating a Modern Guggenheim" or it's a fortuitous harbinger of the Museum's cunning, cutting edge direction.  You pass through a gated entrance to the 1st of 3 installations, "Immigrant Caucus."  This consists of 3 canisters with attached hoses used in spraying to destroy noxious vermin.  Yi claims the canisters emit a discernible scent intended "...to manipulate perception, ... to experience the installation with a new hybridized perspective."  I was unable to detect any aroma surrounding but the message of extinguishing pre-determined threats by immigrants resonates harshly.  Inside the gallery are 2 large opposing biospheres.  One of the contained dioramas is swathed in a fabric covered in various blotches of mold & decay.  The decay is ongoing (although I won't be revisiting to confirm for myself.)  There is an enticing aesthetic from the multi-colored stains which thankfully don't emit any order through the thick glass panel.  The opposing biosphere is a futuristic installation that resembles a futuristic, data gathering center.  Look closely & you will see live ants (& plenty that are dead) traversing through constructed pathways.   Yi worked in collaboration with molecular biologists & forensics chemists, although to what ends, I'm not sure.  There was no ambiguity to Yi's messaging or profound insights.  I think "Life is Cheap" was a self-indulgent & distasteful display.  Although, who am I to say?