Rust with me

Durational Performances & Sculptural Installations
Pier Paolo Pasolini & Dora Basini Exhibition, Casa Maccari, Gradisca d'Isonzo, Italy
2023

Extending on from Untitled (Iron), the Time Oxidation & Rust with me performances/installations represent the evolution of my artistic inquiry into the realm of rust—its materiality, its narrative, and its essence. Through rigorous research and experimentation, my performances became mesmerising embodiments of rust, blurring the lines between the tangible and intangible, material and immaterial. These performances invited the audience to contemplate the contrast between urban and natural environments while potentially evoking feelings of discomfort, anxiety, melancholy, or a sense of mourning among the viewers.

Chiara Isadora Artico, the curator of this exhibition, described my work as:

"Through physical contact with metallic industrial remnants and by evoking statuesque elements of the surrounding area, Zosia initiates a process of embodiment. This suggests to viewers a primordial, physical, and simultaneously spiritual contact with the historical elements of the place."

I pose the questions: What if we listen to rust, give it space, embody it, and become one with it? This approach aims to foster a deeper understanding and connection with nature and our inner selves. Audience participation became integral to the performances, where the public poured vinegar or sea water onto the iron and my naked body. This act initiated corrosion, symbolising a paradoxical moment of decay, transition, and the birth of new materials, with changes in colour, texture, and essence.