During my residency at AQB, I have been researching how states of exhaustion shape the body. My time in Budapest drew my attention to the sculptural figures of Atlas that support buildings throughout the city. I became interested in their frozen postures and the visible strain of bearing the weight of the structures above them. What can these figures tell us about the effort of carrying, supporting, and holding things together? And what remains when the body is no longer there?
These questions led me to reflect on the traces bodies leave behind and how these traces might become visible. During my time in Budapest, I have been developing an installation combining textiles, image, scent, and sound. Through this work, I seek to create a space in which to explore how exertion lingers in the spaces we inhabit, and how forms of labour that often go unseen might be felt and made visible. The outcome of his process will be presented in a one-day exhibition at aqb.
Alongside this installation, I continued developing The Exhausted, a project through which I research exhaustion and how it manifests in art communities. The project brings together conversations with art and cultural workers about their experiences of exhaustion, building an evolving audio archive. I recorded five conversations, which will be made available online.
The residency is organised in cooperation with Arc Bucharest and funded by The Administration of the National Cultural Fund Romania (AFCN).