Circulating bodies, 2025

Performance, Bodies, red sweaters

My degree project was a performance developed in collaboration with others, based on my ongoing artistic exploration of red spheres, a visual and symbolic form I have worked with since 2019. These spheres have become a central element in my practice. I see them as a kind of force, something that can guide us, with the potential to both protect and destroy. The spheres exist both within us and around us; they are emotional, bodily, and spiritual at once. Over time, I have painted them, sculpted them, and incorporated them into various media. Sometimes they appear as distinct, self-contained entities, and sometimes they merge with representations of myself. Lately, I have also started noticing similar forms in the work of others which made me realize that I’m not alone in being drawn to this shape, as if it carries a shared or ancient resonance that many of us respond to. At this stage in my process, it felt natural and necessary to invite others into this investigation. The performance became a collective act, grounded in presence, movement, and connection. It reflected a strong sense of togetherness, something I see as increasingly important in today’s world. I’m grateful for the experience, which deepened my understanding of how art can create space for shared meaning and support. For the degree exhibition, I chose to present a trace of what had taken place. All of the red shirts worn by the bodies in the performance were hung in the space, accompanied by information about the work and an open invitation: visitors were encouraged to take part after the fact by trying on one of the shirts themselves. This gesture was a way of extending the work beyond its original moment allowing the performance to continue living, shifting, and including new participants. Performance, for me, is a form that values the act over the object. In contrast to a world where everything is expected to be owned or sold, I find value in artworks that can be experienced but not possessed, that live briefly, then remain as memories and traces in our stories. This piece was an expression of that idea, and of the belief that we need each other not only in art, but in life.