Separation, Finissage of My Sublet, 2024
Metal, Wood, Latex, Acrylic Paint, Lights, Dirt, Collage, Skull Mounts, Plaster, Agar-Agar, Food Coloring, Synthetic Wool, Raw Wool, Mutated Deerhorns, Tropical Butterflies, Paperpulp, Plants
Through a series of synchronistic encounters, I found myself living in an empty apartment within a social housing project, accompanied by my sculptures. Gradually, the works occupied every room, transforming the space into an immersive, surrealistic, environment.
The apartment is inhabited by the Anima, a solitary figure waiting for reunion with her loved one, the Animus. She stands as a guard in front of her bedroom, a dark space where the subconscious emerges: a fairy resides in a jewelry box, while a painting above the bed depicts a figure controlled by its shadow. Adjacent, a nursery contains a cradle with a mirror, reflecting the Anima’s ongoing process of self-reflection and transformation. The nursery is filled with plants and butterflies, making the space a place with an own ecosystem.
In the bathtub, figures appear to emerge organically, crawling out of the tub. The same creatures can be found in her fridge; after processing, they transform into her food. In the office, images of the animus are displayed above a heart floating on clouds, suggesting a distant fantasy, desire, and imagined reunion. The living room acts as a threshold, while a collage on the floor, laid in the same dirt as her bed, functions as a portal. The collage is surrounded by four skull mounts with collages of butterflies and Kama Sutra images, emphasizing the room’s role as a space of ritual and renewal.
Separation is a very intimate exploration of the workings of this complex figure. Every room reveals more of her life and invites the viewer to engage with the intimate experience of solitude, longing, and self-healing within the private confines of a social housing apartment. The work highlights how waiting, desire, and recovery unfold.
Photographed by Mishka Kornai
