Fragility
12 meters wall painting for collective exhibition «loslassen – loswerden» Waschraum
This project was created in march 2023 for the exhibition "loslassen-loswerden" for a very special space, Waschraum (Bathroom), which is located in a building owned by the Swiss railway company SBB and is also protected by the city of Zurich as a historical heritage site. The space is a large hall with bathrooms and shower cabins, entirely covered in tiles, which gives it an extraordinary fragility and very interesting sound resonance.
Selected artists had to create works that would integrate into the space and emphasize its specificity, complexity, history, and charm.
Since I primarily work with words and languages, I decided to choose a word that would describe this space while also resonating with my own state of being in exile under difficult conditions and simultaneously drawing attention to the state of my country, which is currently extremely vulnerable and fragile.
I used the four languages I speak or am beginning to speak: Ukrainian, French, German, and English, pointedly excluding Russian, which I truly wish to forget.
Text from a book publication that came out a few months after the exhibition (Book loslassen-loswerden, by Nadine Jäger, Alicia Olmos Ochoa, Andrea Ramseyer, Pia Simmendinger, Zurich, Switzerland, https://wasch-raum.ch/buch/):
"A word can unite, a word can distance. It can be the beginning of a war or the start of a new life. A word has power. We think with words, we can express ourselves simply by using language, words. Everything has its word. Even this room with beautiful fragile tiles has its word: fragility. The installation "Fragility" visualizes Ukrainian artist Elzara Oiseau's strength of the word. The calm rhythm of narrowing symbols and the aesthetic of black symbols on white tiles are expressive and beautiful.
Abstract calligraphy is the central element of Oiseau's artistic expression. She believes that nothing is more expressive than words, but at the same time, she lives in an environment where she does not master the local language. She builds a bridge using abstract calligraphy and emphasizes the immense power of language.
This is noticeable at the exhibition, but also tangible, as the words are written on a 12-meter tiled wall and thus have a significant presence in the room. The tiles have their word: fragility. This word is endlessly repeated in abstract calligraphy, designed for the bathroom.
Oiseau's artistic approach, focused on abstract calligraphy, is a sensory experience. "Fragility" encourages us to think about the power of words and how they affect our relationships, our society, and our personal experiences".
One of the main point of the project was the idea that this artwork will be erased by the and of exhibition.
