Orsola Zane

Orsola Zane (b.1997, Italy) investigates themes of isolation, anxiety, loss of individuality and memory Through oil painting and ceramic sculpture.

Blank stares, murky colours, sharp objects and eerie creatures provoke a growing sense of discomfort or even threat, made more unnerving by their domestic settings.

Despite digging into unmotivated fears and problematic approaches to social interaction, there is no therapeutic or reparative intent to Zane’s practice. The focus is rather on isolating and preserving the quiet terror that denotes the moment before the strike, before the violent or self-destructive act is completed.
Drawing from references spanning from catholic iconography and family photos to found footage from rave culture and Italian TV shows for kids, Zane’s subjects are denied the privilege of identity. They hover in the uncomfortable intermediary space between the sacred and profane, relevance and irrelevance; they are both threatening and threatened.
The materials employed are often glossy and hyper-artificial when dealing with fictionalised projections of the self. Whereas, earthy and matte surfaces are visible in more raw or intrusive representations.