SISSI. addosso

As demonstrated by her constant focus on performance practice, Sissi tends to identify the artwork with her own body, altered by garments that she herself sews and transforms. Like the body, the clothes and accessories are also a continuous work in progress, almost a diary that accompanies her life. Sissi conceives clothing not as a way to appear, but as a means to give evidence to her essence, to her “feeling” a certain way, to carrying on herself, lightly or heavily, all the turning points of a personal existence dense with heightened sensitivity and a vital strength capable of facing adversity head-on. Far from being an aesthetic pursuit or aimed at glamour, her work on disguise and “clothing” is an extreme, though paradoxical, attempt to tell her story with full sincerity.

Sissi brings to the Fondazione’s Project Room hundreds of skirts, shirts, coats, footwear, earrings, and jewelry crafted by herself, using materials ranging from ceramic, plastic, and rubber to synthetic fur and wire knitwear. The wardrobe, stripped of any decorative embellishments, was moved from the warm space of her Bologna home to the cold environment of the Fondazione, accompanied by classification systems that record not only the year of creation and modifications, but also, where possible, a sort of concise diary of the occasions and emotions the pieces have witnessed.