Biography
As a psychologist, I came into contact with people who had experienced extreme situations - sometimes as victims, sometimes as offenders. I had to face a large spectrum of problems, based on economic, social, political, ethical, ethnic or religious factors.
With the help of psychology I tried to explain people's behavior and find an answer to existential questions. The lack of communication that leads to prejudice and conflicts, has inspired my work as an artist. By using satire I've found my way to deal with these existential problems in my work.
Due to my interest in human rights, I participated in several initiatives for Amnesty International and for the protection of water with works of art.
Since 2004 I use transparent materials, including recycled materials (polyethylene, polyester and acetate film) in installations, assemblages, images and videos.
Its transparency, airiness and special aesthetic quality gave me the possibility to involve the third spacial dimension in my art works.
"Transparency” as the main concept in my work features the human being with its wide variety of existential aspects. It may be considered as a metaphor for the globalization of our world in which the „individual“ becomes „transparent“ and vanishes into an anonymous mass.
At the same time modern communication systems facilitate mass surveillance. The invasion of personal privacy ultimately leads to a “transparent” society.
Additionally, one of my latest works „All for one and one for all“ with the female figures on a target board, focuses on women’s rights. These women are united in their transparent anonymity, transforming them into one single woman. Thus they indicate the struggle of women in the world to live a self-determined life, especially in many countries in which women are forced to become „transparent“ and „invisible“, in order to have the right to exist.
Giovanna Valli Munich, 1.06.2014
