by Margaret Sgarra, contemporary art curator
Sara Zunino is an artist who, through different media, explores the bond between the human beings and inhabited and denied places, focusing in particular on issues concerning identity in relation to belonging or not to a territory.
Migration and transience are part of your research. What interests you about this topic, and why did you choose it as a focus of your research?
My research on migration and transience began in late 2013. That year, following the shipwreck of Lampedusa on October 3rd, my conscience was profoundly shaken. So I began to reflect on how displacement is an existential act and how limiting human freedom of movement is one of the greatest contemporary inequalities. I felt I could no longer remain indifferent to the profound wound of immigration, which is one of the most central political, social and civil issues of our time, and which directly affects my country, Italy. Following this realization, I worked for several years on literacy projects for migrants, especially minors, and this experience led me to broaden my reflections, both personally and artistically. I analyzed my own personal experience, beginning to consider it from a different perspective. Many members of my family, over the course of four generations, have moved several times throughout Italy and, in some cases, even abroad, finding themselves living or growing old in places other than those where they were born, For this reason, they brought with them imagery, traditions and dialectal expressions which have integrated with new geographies, new customs and new dialects. In this way they created a diverse cultural baggage that, passed down, has become part of my inner heritage. I myself have moved across the country, first following my parents’ choices, then on my own to pursue my studies and passions. I found myself feeling a sense of belonging to many places, yet at the same time a stranger to all. I realized how fundamental belonging, or non-belonging, to a geographical location is in the construction of identity.
As an artist, you often express yourself through installation. What fascinates you about this kind of medium?
My training begins with classical sculpture. I have worked with various traditional techniques and materials. However, at a certain point in my career, I felt that using these mediums wasn’t always sufficient to express the concepts I was working on. So I began experimenting with installation. Infact, I feel that this medium allows me to have a freer relationship with the elements, shifting my focus from the object to the concept I wish to represent. For me, the material thus becomes a means of conveying the idea, rather than the central element of my works. I believe that much of my artistic work lies in the research, in the process, which leads me to encapsulate in a form the final result of an investigative process, which I often pursue for several months.
The Courtesy Set project takes the form of an envelope and speaks of migration, necessity, objects and travel. What do you think an artist should always carry around?
From my perspective, I believe an artist should always possess the ability to perceive signals. In this era, everything is potentially an artistic object. Therefore, it’s important to pay attention and capture what transcends individual experience and becomes a universal message. I also believe, as an artist, that one should always keep in mind that art can be a powerful means of communication.
Geografia Umana, instead, talks about your relationship with your city, Florence. How does where you live influence your work?
To answer this question, I must clarify first. Florence is not my city. It is the city where I chose to settle, for various reasons, but I’m not sure I will stay permanently. This premise leads me to explain the genesis of Geografia Umana. The work was born after a few years of living in Florence. In this limited time, the city had already shown me many different aspects and ways in which it could be experienced. I therefore reflected on the impossibility of a place having a single identity, and on how places are shaped by people’s experiences. On that occasion, I chose the practice of walking to create my itineraries, using my body to connect with the geographical location. At the moment, I don’t believe Florence directly influences my work, but being a medium-sized city with many facets, allows me to gather within it many insights, stimuli and food for thought to continue my journey. So, in conclusion, my relationship with the city of Florence is still vital, and I believe it can still be very important for me and for my expression.
Are there any artists you admire?
There are many artists I admire and who inspire me. To name a few, not in interesting or chronological or order, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Tomàs Saraceno, Ai Weiwei, Luigi Ghirri, and Barbara Iweins. But there are certainly many more!
From your point of view as an artist, when does a material become an object of study for you and is included in your projects?
As I’ve said before, the primary subjects of my work are those concepts and suggestions that, even in a broader sense, I perceive in the reality around me, and which influence behavior or public opinion. Material, therefore, always appears in my projects secondarily, when it becomes clear to me how I wish to convey the idea. At this point of the process, once I’ve identified the material, I begin to manipulate it to best convey the concept I intend to express. Therefore, I’d say that choosing and acting on the material is the final act of my projects.
What are you working on now and what would you like to do soon?
At the moment, as often happens, I’m working on several ideas simultaneously. I’m definitely still giving space to the Courtesy Set project, which I don’t consider finished yet. I’m also working on an unreleased project in which I’d like to delve deeper into the reality of “invisible jobs”, and the gap between their consideration and their impact on the functioning of society.