Genietta Varsi

Working fluidly between drawing, sculpture, collage and performance, Gienietta Varsi dissects and reconfigures the body. Incorporating scientific, ecological, and anthropological readings of anatomy, Varsi contorts and investigates the human form to explore how bodies shape environments and in turn, how society is shaped by them. In her own words “body manipulation allows me to question the social conventions that define our image, behaviour, rituals and ideologies”. Varsi embodies the precise role of a lab scientist in her performance works, meticulously recording the physical results of her durational experiments. Within her ongoing project, Cleaning and Urban Health: Water Relieving (2019), Varsi dons a latex sweat suit and runs in water deprived areas of public space, later depositing collected sweat into lakes and rivers (approx. 15-20ml sourced during each 4k run). Her sculptures and drawings lean more into an uncanny, surrealist lens. Her installations contain grotesque elements such as human nails or hair, yet they’re presented in clinical settings. The drawings similarly converge mechanical and corporal elements, referencing the loss of autonomy our bodies face in contemporary society. These drawings echo the dual brutality and tenderness of Frida Kahlo’s work, whilst the use of her own body as canvas links Varsi to practitioners such as Ana Mendieta, Carolee Schneeman and Gina Pane.