wet*
Fig. #01. Shot of the manifesto displayed across the rivers of Venice advertising the exhibition for both locals and visitors, 2022.
From June 18th to July 10th, 2022 I had the pleasure to see my work featured on 'wet', the first solo exhibition by the artistic duo -ness (Rooy Charlie Lana and Giulia Zulian), hosted at Aarduork , in Venice. ‘wet’ reasons about the biopolitical and poetic meanings of the secretion and management of bodily fluids, focusing on the initial phase of production of sexual humors as a unit of fluid that measures expressed or unexpressed emotional states, in relation to sexuality or its spectacular representation (i.e., pornography).
As described in its manifesto, -ness navigates the world of the “Transghost”, a space that subverts any hierarchy on the basis of sex, gender, ethnicity and age. The usage of performance in their practice highlights their understanding of the body, sex and the self, and how this is impacted by our heteronormative society.
The artwork “My Skin My Logo” was composed by converting the graphemes which compose the word ‘wet’ into a liquid visual representation, rather playing with the significance of the word itself in order to produce a synaesthetic effect at sight. Hidden among these fluid shapes are many veiled references to sexuality and its raw expressions – a wild mixture of flesh and moistures and smells and stimuli – but also to emotions along with their melancholic lymphs and performances.
Fig. #03. Detail of the manifesto by the Venetian canal for the exhibition ‘wet’ at Aarduork, 2022.
The visuals I created for the show overrun the communication paradigm and ended up being absorbed by the exhibition itself — traces of the artwork can indeed be found (both explicit and hidden) all across spaces and artifacts, intertwining with the landscape.
Fig. #04-05. Soundtrack visualization created for the exhibition, which showcases the artworks’ title and the credits — Venice, 2022.
Fig. #06. Frame captured during the opening of the exhibition ‘wet’ at Aarduork Art Gallery, 2022.
Fig. #07-08. Front and back view of bed slats created by the artist duo -ness which feature the ‘wet’ logo on top — Venice, 2022.