What I do without you (Swimming Exercises) / Cosa farei senza di te (Esercizi in Acqua)
Aerobic Instruction, 2011
20 minutes
In “What I do without you (Swimming Exercises)” the public was invited to come to an area of Lake Como to do water aerobic exercises together. I used the concept of repetitive physical gestures, like basic exercises, as a strategy to allow everyone to share a simple activity in a common space that could permit a social interaction. The reason for creating the project was to allow me, as a foreigner, to intermingle with Italian people and local regulations. The research forced me to be in uncomfortable, vulnerable positions quite often. Instead of being in control and self-sufficient, I often needed to ask people for help, get very lost, and culturally misstep, all on my way to creating the artwork. I like to orchestrate awkward and messy interactions in order to break or fracture the rigid and emotionally distancing social constructs.