DESPINA/LARGO DAS ARTES, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL.

JUNE-AUGUST 2016

Chalk lines, permanent marker, acrylic, cardboard folders and filing cabinets, digital printing on transparent paper, iridescent paper, reflective tape, marble imitation paper and sandpaper.

"Cosmétique" brings together a series of works conceived through the etymological dimensions of the word cosmetic, a term that carries multiple meanings. On the one hand, it derives from the Greek kosmetike (tekhne) —“the art of dress and ornament”; on the other, from kosmos (cosmos), meaning order, beauty and harmony, in reference to the universe. Likewise, kosmetes were the artisans responsible for repainting the colours of statues, façades and temple columns. It was only during the twentieth century that the word also acquired its contemporary association with the “superficial”.

Within this framework, ordinary materials such as cardboard folders and binders, pencils, ribbons and plastic mesh are manipulated — or perhaps “made up” — in an attempt to extend them beyond their mundane origins. Through processes of transformation and display, these materials are elevated into the realm of art itself.