Catalogue > Un extrait vidéo au hasard

FILM photographs, videos, colours, black and white, sounds, 06:52:00, Courtesy Twenty14, 2020 The notion of memory is only one of the motives that pushed Mara Palena to start a long process - potentially infinite - titled of "Oikeiôsis". An ancient Greek word, used to indicate self-realization through the knowledge of the inner self. Using analog archival pictures, produced from the artist's childhood up until today, the process is a continuous image alteration that seems to be regulated by a state of consciousness that is at times fragile and melancholy, sometimes romantic, sometimes sharp - almost violent - never graspable. Alterations similar to a sound frequency, which regulate the tone of our perception of reality and its aesthetic transposition; universal frequencies that vibrate in the presence of a memory, which permeates every body. Passing through the crowd of a rave, where human profiles can hardly be recognized, the adudience find himself in a large cardiac apparatus, which pulsates through the images and sounds of a diary. A memory that not belong to the viewer, but seems warmly familiar. Words by Matilde Scaramellini Sound design by Donato Panaccio.

Mara Palena (1988) lives and works in Milan. Her research focuses on themes such as memory, remembrance and identity. The artist’s aesthetic, clearly influenced by the field of fashion where she worked for several years, is combined with an intimate and poetic vision. Using photography, video and sound, her work aims to involve the viewer in immersive experiences. Using and reworking archival material, she seeks a link between personal and collective, between introspection and connection. Her work, represented by the Twenty14 gallery, has been exhibited in various international festivals, spaces and galleries such as: Marsèll Paradise, Milan; MOPLA, Los Angeles; Nowhere Gallery, Milan; Pananti Atelier, Milan; Recontemporary, Turin; Guardian Art Center, Beijing. Between 2021 and 2023 she arrived finalist at various prizes and awards like: Combat Prize, Premio Fabbri and New Post Photography. Her work is reported in Exibart’s publication 222 emerging artists to invest in 2021. In 2022 she was nominated by Giangavino Pazzola and Camera Torino for FUTURES Photography. Oikeiôsis won the Surprize 2022 prize by Sprint and Fondazione Marcelo Burlon with Witty Books for the upcoming publication in November 2023.