Slvia Rigon: Neoplastic Knitting

Silvia Rigon

2008 Body Art Disease Symposium: Exhibitions
Organized and Curated by Stefanie Adcock

Location: Bermant Gallery, Broad Art Center

“A neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissue, the growth of which exceeds and is uncoordinated with that of the normal tissues, and persists in the same excessive manner after cessation of the stimulus which evoked the change."[Willis RA: The Spread of Tumors in the Human Body]

Using crochet, I simulated some of the behaviors of tumoral and cancerous cells, such as abnormal excessive replication and metamorphic appearance. The knitting mimics the way healthy tissue, metaphorically illustrated by the regular stitches, appears disfigured when the disease infiltrates its weaving.

Silvia Rigon is an Italian artist and designer. She has a background in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts of Venezia (Italy), and an MFA from the Department of Design| Media Arts at UCLA. Silvia’s artistic investigation combines elements her deep training in traditional fine art techniques and education, and her professional experience as a graphic and digital designer. The content of her pieces often refers to the notion of “monstrosity”, especially manifested in historical iconography and myths, as a way of unveiling the ambivalence and paradoxes underling our perception of the time in which we live. Her work has been exhibited in such venues as: The Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Tokyo, Japan; The Center for Contemporary Art in Tallin, Estonia; Lamec: Laboratorio per L’Arte Contemporanea in Vicenza, Italy; Lamparna 93 in Labin, Croatia.
www.silviarigon.com