Luz Lizarazo in the First Edition of the maltabiennale.art
Casas Riegner is pleased to announce the participation of the Colombian artist Luz Lizarazo (1966, Bogotá) in the first edition of the maltabiennale.art. She will showcase her artwork titled ‘My Body Speaks the Truth’, which delves into the systemic subjugation of the female voice and body.
Inspired by Saint Agatha, one of the patron saints of Malta, Lizarazo’s artistic proposal explores the contradictory cultural and spiritual significance of female breasts. Breasts are the most visually eroticized part of the female anatomy, yet they are also sources of life, nourishment, and strength. Saint Agatha was a martyr from the 3rd century who had her breasts torn from her body and was then burnt alive during the persecutions ordered by the Roman emperor Decious.
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“The body speaks in languages beyond words. The female body has been considered a means to celebrate life, birth, transitions, and death. It has also been treated as a weapon of war, a sexual object, and a site for abuse” -Luz Lizarazo
The installation, crafted from "fique" paper sheets dyed with native "Palo Brasil", aims to create a territory covered by ceramics and paintings of women with hollow breasts in which life occurs, and a golden leaf-covered fique ball chain intertwined, resembling rosary beads, emphasizing the sacredness of life through a universal symbol of prayer and meditation.
Her artwork will be featured in the Matri-archive Pavilion. This Pavilion takes over the Grandmaster’s Palace, situated in the heart of Valletta. Today, this palace is the office of the President of the Republic. The choice of location aims to bring a feminine perspective to this institutional center of power.
On view from March 13 to May 31, 2024.
