Is it possible to transform leather in a form of artistic expression? How far can the mind and body be pushed? Does the past always have a specific weight? These are the questions on which the works of Cecilia Bounous, Martina Zanin and Gabriela Gutiérrez Ovalle are structured. Three different artists that work, each one of them proposing their extremely personal vision, with leather. Then, they share a peculiar view of art practice as a survey instrument, as fight, crash, liberation and memory recovery
Cecilia Bounous and the art of the limit
The concept of perfection could turn into a cage. But with “Prostitution” Cecilia Bounous wants to tell the tension that it feels when that research is pushed towards its limits. The work is composed of a large indented bovine leather on which are inserted six hundred and fifty razor blades of the Astra brand, in order to simulate the piercing of the piece of leather.
The meaning is deep. “The mind often decides to sacrifice the body with the aim of achieving various objectives and reaching an almost obsessive perfection. In this sense, the razor blades lined up and spaced by precise millimeters, represent the mind that forces the body to sacrifice itself as a bargaining chip. I wanted to highlight the limits of the body in relation to the mind”, as underlined by the artist, who has lived the creation of her work almost as a performance. “During the creation I truly experienced this limit, as when I was lining up the razor blades one close to eachother, I accidentally cut myself”. Even the choice of the blades’ brand is significant. In order to represent and transmit this tension aimed at perfection, Cecilia Bounous has brought inspiration from the motto per aspera ad astra, “through suffering to the stars”.
So, to sacrifice the body, in favor of the mind. The piece has been displayed in Fondazione Sozzani and it wasn’t the first time in which Bounous worked with leather. “Leather has always attracted me because it essentially is a dynamic and “alive” material, and it makes you able to create a true bond with the canvas. Actually, sometimes it takes its place. As well as the really close relationship – the things that you can do on leather are essentially impossible with other materials. As, for example, cuts: leather allows you to move them over time, because they will inevitably change”. So, the art of the limit in order to shift the boundary more and more.
The (upside down) power of Martina Zanin
An artistic research strongly linked to her personal experience. Martina Zanin uses art as a lens, in order to explore much more widely the relationship dynamics, by dealing with themes such as memory, repetition, absence, tension and heritage. Throughout a fluid practice that encourages the spectator to enter vulnerable spaces and question the ambiguity that characterizes power dynamics. The body – represented, evoked, metaphysic, in relation with space and movement, together with leather – are recurring elements. So, a world to walk through. As the artist does in “Avvistamenti (17 May 12:34)”, work that has been selected as a finalist for the Talent Prize 2024. “In this piece I investigate the father-daughter relationship by presenting the metaphor of the falcon with its prey, a creature that raises terror and allure. I’ve always had a particularly intermittent relationship with my father, which has been characterized by long periods of absence, alternating with a strict and violent presence. Falcons are indomitable, they appear and rapidly vanish as they please.
From this particular aspect I started to reflect on how even forms of abandonment actually represent peculiar ways of power assertion. For about seven years, with the help of a diary, I have been communicating with my father by transferring his figure to the animal world. It consists of a hybrid between a diary and a register of sightings, in which I take note of date and time, as well as the description of the moment or a thought, in a particular kind of communication with this man-animal creature, with the “F” that stands for both Father and Falcon. In this work the private diary is brought to the dimension of a public installation” as explained by Zanin. Without any filters. A painful awareness, that maybe needs to be dispelled, that Zanin shows to the public. “The installation combines material, verbal and performative, and it explores the ambiguity of power dynamics, by specifically highlighting the fragile boundary that distinguishes the concepts of protection and control. In family relationships, what is interpreted as a gesture of protection can easily turn into a dangerous form of control. The high and angular position in which the piece is displayed forces the spectator to acquire the perspective of a prey, confined to a corner”. An inner process that transforms itself into art. Even through leather. “The use of hide is related to the connection with falconry, which has been fundamental for my research, because of the falcon-father association. I am fascinated by the possibility of linking this material with photography and writing, with the aim of amplifying the experience of the works in terms of a multisensory involvement” concludes Zanin. The (upside down) power thanks to art.
The body memory of Gabriela Gutiérrez Ovalle
“The first limits have been my body and my sexuality. I’ve tried to recognize and consider them as a creative and destructive push from which to restart in order to overcome the patriarchal vision. The first frontier has been represented by the necessity to define and establish the exchange rules between what came from outside in relation to my body and what I thought that my place in the world would be”. Gabriela Gutiérrez Ovalle is a Mexican artist and in her practice she is truly able to combine the themes of body, identity, memory recovery and capitalism. Nonetheless, a work that starts from the concept of space. “There is a space that exists “inside” the body and it organizes an entire system of metabolic relationships that essentially enable the life of that particular organism. Then, it’s important to consider the way in which the body feeds itself and creates connections with the “external” system that holds it. Essentially, what we can define as “space”, even if they are both part of the same thing”, as underlined by the artist. A political space where violence and environmental and social crises manifest themselves.
In her pieces, Ovalle often uses leather. A choice that is linked, in a certain way, to memory. “When I was walking through the center of Mexico City, I was struck by the smell of leather that came from a leather shop. I entered the shop and there were large pieces of sand-colored leather laying on various tables. In a totally impulsive act, I bought different pieces of this material, even if I didn’t really know how to use them. Then, I over time understood that I loved that leather transmitted information through its marks”. So, a true memory of the past, constantly in evolution. In “Proyecto Cerco”, a work from 2012, the concept of memory is pivotal. Ovalle creates a penetrable spiral fence made of hair. Witnesses of the past.
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