As seen in the last few posts, integrating discarded clothes in a work of art is not just a practice welcomed by many contemporary artists, but it is also a way to hint at different human conditions, depending from the artist.
In yesterday's post we looked for example at Yin Xiuzhen and at the way clothes become tangible proof of human existence in her installations; for Polish artist Maria Loboda, garments assume instead a very different role.
Her work "Lord of Abandoned Success" (L'Argile Humide, 2017) on display in the Arsenale section at the 58th International Art Exhibition in Venice consists indeed in a series of half-formed wet clay pieces on sculptor's stands, partially wrapped in plastic film and in garments that seem borrowed from a man's wardrobe (formal shirts, ties, a business suit and a denim jacket).
The material seems to have reached a state of completion, but if you look a bit better, you realise the pieces have been abandoned by the artist in a "non finito" state.
The title of the installation derives indeed from the Eight of Cups tarot card. The latter symbolizes becoming bored with familiar things and, gathering strength and courage, leaving everything behind to pursue a dream. The tarot card indicates great changes of perspectives and turning points, leaving the past behind for the unknown and even running after impossible ideals.
Loboda analyses with this installation the impossibility of reaching states of completion in art: the pieces will probably not be finished by the artist who started them and the clothes, rather than being just functional rugs that wrap the clay, are ways to hint at the possibility of discarding one's appearance to become someone else, maybe assuming a new role in life.
Yet there is a deception in this installation: a complete sculpture disguised as an incomplete piece stands among the unfinished sculptures, creating a constrast and a contradiction and inviting visitors to reconsider the uncertainties that may be lurking behind what's visible.
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