ISABELLA COSTABILE
b. 1991, ItalyObjects present information about time. They are accumulated during a person’s life and are eventually left to themselves in someway or another as change occurs. A worn appearance showing signs of rust and decay from outdoor exposure usually means they haven’t been used or maintained in sometime and already give indications about the changing state of their materials. Then again, if they’ve been kept well and are able to endure the passing of time, many household possessions can transmit knowledge about relationships and experiences over generations, so that the mind can not only imagine the past but perceive the past in the present and see a connection between the self and a broader dimension.
As in this case, whether discovered in parts of a family home that had not been given much attention, spotted on pathways and streets belonging to everyone and no one, or collected from leftover industrial materials – the information in these consumed objects eventually becomes less and less personal as the conditions surrounding them change and they no longer represent a habitual purpose related to a specific activity or experience. The meanings they carry multiply and are transformed as they are passed from person to person, surviving various circumstances that contribute to their fragility and process of decomposition.
Encounters with second-hand things have encouraged reflection about human presence and the different material possibilities and expectations that are associated to this complex form of existence. Being both individuals and representatives of a species, these things tell stories about the experiences shaping our humanity as ‘carriers’ ourselves of ideas and attitudes shared among families and distinct cultures.
Text courtesy the artist
Representative Artworks
Front to back: Isabella Costabile; Henry Shum. Exhibition view: Andrew Kreps, miart 2024, Milan (12–14 April 2024). Courtesy miart. Photo: Nicola Morittu.
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