Ambra Castagnetti's Hybrid Ecosystems at Venice Biennale

Italian artist Ambra Castagnetti (Genoa, 1993) presents works at the Venice Biennale that explore compromised nature, blending organic and artificial elements. Her sculptures, such as 'Balalajka' (2020) in ceramic and metallic enamel, and installations like 'Huntress' (2021) using resin, steel, plaster, pigments, wax, grain, flowers, and shellac, envision a microcosm without hierarchy among species. Castagnetti's practice draws on anthropological theories, particularly Nancy Scheper-Hughes's 'The Mindful Body,' to decouple body and illness and address systemic violence and medicalization. She works across media—ceramics, bronze, textiles, video, performance—as seen in 'Desert Dogs' (video), 'Black Milk' and 'Dependency' (installations merging sculpture and performance). Her Biennale project, inspired by a BDSM video by Erika Lust, involves a horde of people or creatures linked by wearable sculptural elements, emphasizing mutual dependence among humans, animals, plants, and artificial beings. Castagnetti's ceramics are intentionally unconventional, drawing from Chinese shops and flea markets, valuing instability and precarity. The interview was conducted by Saverio Verini and published in Artribune Magazine #65/66.