The 78th ARTCaffè hosted Camilla Alberti, with an audience both in-person in Seoul and connecting on-line in Zoom.
Using different mediums, including sculpture, painting, and industrial embroidery, Camilla creates imagery able to deconstruct anthropocentrism: "Through my work, I reflect on the concept of building worlds, and on the roles and relationships that each inhabitant/builder - human and non-human - define through their being in the world."
At the beginning of her carreer, she started with an analysis of the human constructive method, architecture, and developed sculptures that portrayed its clear geometry. The reflection upon the fact that constructing worlds is not only a prerogative of human beings generated, then, sculptures and installations, such as the 'Serico' and 'Ruins' series, "in which the relationship between species became the fundamental focus. (...) In both cases, the element I had constructed became a matter for manipulation by other living species, engaging in a process of transformation completely alien to my will and my timing. These works have taught me to reflect on the identity of time."
Her artistic research led her lately to a sculptural series entitled 'Unbinding Creatures,' in which the geometric shapes of her previous works have been transformed into complex bodies. "Unbinding Creatures is a series of sculptures and installations built from a process of urban archaeology, a practice through which I collect abandoned objects, industrial waste, and anthropic elements. Each element collected is like a map capable of telling stories of otherness and coexistence, as on their surface are imprinted the traces of other species’ lives that have moulded their shape, eroded their brilliance, or polished their edges."
As a very generous treat for the ARTCaffè's community, Camilla gave a preview of the result of her artist residency at Gangneung: a gorgeous sculpture from her Unbinding Creatures series, that will be soon exhibited at GIAF23.
“Everytime I make a sculpture, I don't consider it as an object, but as a creature, or a potential symbol whose details can tell about the process I followed to realise it. To me, every sculpture is like a poem that tells about the creature and its story, the specific place where I collected the objects, the collaborative process that I engaged with other organism.” - Camilla Alberti
Photo Credit: all the pictures of the artworks are courtesy of the artist.
Thanks to the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul for the patronage of the event.
