Claudia Losi
Residency period
1 October – 9 November 2018
About
The artistic practice of Claudia Losi (b.1971, Italy) explores social interactions, the entanglements of human sensibilities, and the complexities of natural phenomena through scientific, ethnographic, and anthropological research methodologies. Spanning participatory projects and performances as well as drawings, photography, and sculpture, her work has recently been presented in the solo exhibition How do I imagine being there?, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2016) and in numerous international group shows including the Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art, China (2016); MAGASIN, Grenoble, France (2010); Sharjah Biennale 8, United Arab Emirates (2007).
Focus
In recent years, Claudia Losi’s artistic research has journeyed around the perception of places creating erratic configurations of language, memory, and imagination that unfold multiple layers of our subjective relationship to the world. For the artist, “being there” denotes a state of being located in the mind of the subject, in the memories and imagination related to a physical environment. These series of investigations coalesced into the publication How do I imagine being there?, realized in 2016 alongside an eponymous exhibition. Following the same train of thought, the research project for the residency is titled Being There or Life is a State of Mind, after the 1979 film by American director Hal Ashby. Losi intends to conduct a series of interviews with people from diverse disciplines, generations, and socioeconomic backgrounds asking them to describe a certain typology of place. Texts, drawings, and possibly a video will be created on the basis of the gathered materials.
Public programmes
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To what extent can a place be described by its geology, morphology, and history, and to what extent can it, instead, be imagined? What kind of descriptions are triggered by direct experience and what kind of descriptions arise solely from imagination? How is the subjective experience of a place transmitted to and received by others? In recent years, the work of Claudia Losi has interrogated the physical and imaginative potential of “being there,” the act of encountering a specific space through direct experience, remote imagination, and multiple narratives. In this talk, the artist will discuss her fascination with the elsewhere, the poetics of wandering, and the theatre of memory in the context of her practice, addressing the collaborative methodologies that nurture the creation of her collective mindscapes.
The talk will take place in the artist’s studio.
BIOGRAPHY
The artistic practice of Claudia Losi (b.1971, Italy) explores social interactions, the entanglements of human sensibilities, and the complexities of natural phenomena through scientific, ethnographic, and anthropological research methodologies. Spanning participatory projects, performances as well as drawings, photography, and sculpture, her work has recently been presented in the solo exhibition How do I imagine being there?, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2016) and in numerous international group shows including the Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art, China (2016); MAGASIN, Grenoble, France (2010); Sharjah Biennale 8, United Arab Emirates (2007).
Image caption: Claudia Losi, Asking Shelter, 2018, bronze casting of rose branches, silver. Courtesy the artist.