No meu quarto (In my room)

The installation In My Room (No Meu Quarto) is composed by a single sculpture and the series of seven photographs originated by it.

The “Ballerina II” as it is called, consists of seven acrylic boxes that perfectly fit the dimensions of each part of the body of a real-size ballerina and four empty boxes that serve to support the other boxes. It is possible to move the boxes individually and change the position of the body of the Ballerina. In this artwork, the absurdly feminine icon of an idealized ballerina was cut into pieces, member by member, with each body part confined in smaller acrylic displays. These displays are transparent pliable boxes that provide order and meaning to the anatomy in pieces. They are also sufficiently visible to create subtle vertical and horizontal ruptures between the thin acrylic frames which involve, protect, and impose distance enhancing the strained-muscle content to the status of untouchable. The traditional image of the ballerina carries an emotional and dramatic character, even though it has been unwearyingly consumed and explored, making them almost unreal beings from an idealization of immateriality. In this life-size sculpture the ballerina is represented using an hyper-realistic treatment. The anatomic dismembering stresses the dramatic aura. The body pieces could be lifeless and spread on the floor, but they were given a fake and artificial life essence.

In the transition from sculpture to photography, I questioned the boundary between the real and its representations through the repetition and unexpected arrangement of the same sculptural pieces that make the “Ballerina” in a variety of constructed scenes. The artworks carrie a certain morbidity mixed with slight clichés from the erotic iconography bringing a sense of uneasiness to the spectator.

I studied sculpture at the School of Music and Fine Arts of Paraná (Brazil). My work is almost exclusively in sculpture and most recently, since 2011, I started woking with photography and video. But even in these last two media, my sculpture work is present, since I use it as a character for my bidimensional work. The main difference with photography and video is that - as the material is bidimensional - I can direct the viewer's attention to what I specifically want them to see. This gives me a sensation of power that I had not experienced before. I use the figurative in my production to discuss issues such as sexuality, repression, appearance and alienation. To me, the purpose of art is to expose and discuss human issues/ problems; the media or "style" of the artwork is therefore irrelevant if the artist is honest to their purpose. In my work, I decided to show bodies that can't be real. They are manipulated and in total disarray for the most part. But the perfect detail of almost-industrial manufacturing shifts the viewers perception from the twisted to the beautiful. This is "my two cents" about our alienated society that is avid for aesthetics and used to rapidly-fulfilling its desires and needs, and that ends-up treating the world as a big garbage can.

UNIQUE SCULPTURE:
Ballerina II (Bailarina II), 2014 - resin, hair, ocular prosthesis, acrylic – 87.4 x 37.4 x 43.3 in (222x95x110cm)

PHOTO1:
For what reason would you want my soul on your bed? (E por que haverias de querer minha alma na sua cama?), 2014 - edition 1/3 - sculpture and photography, archival pigment print - 27,55 x 39,37 in (66x99cm)

PHOTO2:
Would you want my soul? (Haverias de querer minha alma?), 2014 - edition 1/3 - sculpture and photography, archival pigment print - 27,55 x 39,37 in (66x99cm)

PHOTO4:
What if there is no soul? (E se não houver mais alma?), 2014 - edition 1/3 - sculpture and photography, archival pigment print - 27,55 x 39,37 in (66x99cm)

PHOTO5:
On your bed or in my soul? (Na tua cama ou na minha alma?), 2014 - edition 1/3 - sculpture and photography, archival pigment print - 27,55 x 39,37 in (66x99cm)

PHOTO6:
And I ask myself: why? (E eu pergunto: por quê?), 2014 - edition 1/3 - sculpture and photography, archival pigment print - 27,55 x 39,37 in (66x99cm)

PHOTO7:
My soul under the bed (Minha alma sob a cama), 2014 - edition 1/3 - sculpture and photography, archival pigment print - 27,55 x 39,37 in (66x99cm)