Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva – 10 Years of The Body

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Selection of sculptures made during a residency at Pied a Terre, include Witness of Virility (2011) one of many artworks that use raw material from the Michelin starred kitchen, in this case, sheep testes. Ladies Purses IV (2011) is also made from sheep testes, but the form challenges ideas in the fashion industry with a new frankness. Other works include Bibles 1 to V (2016) made from caul fat and draw upon the theme (In the beginning…the word became flesh) behind my work Haruspex (2015) for the Pavilion of the Holy See (Venice Biennale, 2015). These are complemented by sculptures developed after that exhibition, also made from animal organs, including Beauty Exposed III (2016) where the organs are presented as otherworldly shapes unfamiliar to us. Works designed to hang, including Rendition of Self (2016), made of a cow’s stomach (or in butcher’s terms a ‘bible’), are presented as if in an abattoir.