Lidia Lidia: Taking Control
The Cutting Season, Girl’s World, © Lidia Lidia, Image Courtesy of the Artist
*Content Warning: this article discusses violence against womxn and girls, and domestic abuse.
March 8th, 2024
By Liv Collins
Over a few chilly days at the start of spring, I was lucky enough to chat to Lidia Lidia, the Italian artist, and daring activist. Over email, we dive into Lidia’s art practice. We chat about Barbies, intense performance art, Trump, gender oppression, and so much more. Although our conversation steers through some heavy topics - Lidia’s passion, determination, and kindness illuminates them all. This artist reminds us how important it is not to shy away from urgent global issues, (from which none of us are exempt). In my eyes, Lidia Lidia is undoubtedly one of the most exciting artists at work today - keep scrolling to immerse yourself in her work, words, and ever-evolving worlds.
Red Color of Your Shame, Girls' World Girl’s World, © Lidia Lidia, Image Courtesy of the Artist
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
The first question I'd love to ask you - is how are you doing? As an artist, human, and activist? I'd love to hear it all.
To <Liv Collins>
From <Lidia Lidia>
At the moment I am feeling madly confused about everything: I am my practice and my practice is me. There isn't any distinction between the human, activist, and artist.
In September 2023, I had a life-changing experience doing the preparatory workshop to reperform for Marina Abramović's exhibition. After 5 days of food and tech fasting and silence, I felt a sense of connection, and serenity, that I don't think I've ever felt before in my life. But then I come back to the “real” world/life...
Since then I am questioning everything and trying to understand in which direction to go. It seems to me more and more, that what I do, the way I live, are made very difficult, sometimes even impossible, by a system that only allows and promotes the exploitation of human beings for profit! We live in a social and economic system based on the superiority and the privileges of the few, at the expense of the many. It seems that some of us are just using their freedom to enslave everyone and everything else...
Well... I am confused and deeply upset and disappointed!!!!
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
Lidia, I'm so sorry to hear you're feeling all these things. I completely get it. The world right now feels like it's falling off its axis.
In exciting news - I'd love to hear more about your workshop for the Marina Abramović exhibition.
To <Liv Collins>
From <Lidia Lidia>
Liv, attached you can find what I wrote when I finished the workshop: an amazing experience that I wish everyone could do!!! I have been so privileged/blessed!!!!!!!
Reflections on the Marina Abramović workshop by Lidia Lidia (Click to open full screen)
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
Wow, your words are magic.
I really love this paragraph near the end of the text: "Marina Abramović's work is really intense, sometimes very difficult to watch and uncomfortable to experience, but isn't the very experience of being human very difficult and intense? And I strongly believe that we need art now more than ever to make us think and give us tools to take control of our lives."
Do you think similar ideas to what you mentioned above, run through your series Girls’ World?
Scream Quietly Or The Neighbours Will Hear, Girl’s World, © Lidia Lidia, Image Courtesy of the Artist
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
Absolutely yes. Girls’ World was born with the intention to build a conversation, and to build awareness about the 'war on women'. It is something that I personally experienced in my life, and I need to do the work to process and understand why. To date, I still don't have the answer. The only thing I understood is that gender oppression is a part of a global structure of injustice and oppression practised in the name of private property, richness and power. Basically in the name of capitalism...
The below quote is by Judy Chicago:
“I don't think art can change the world. I do think art can educate, inspire, empower people to act”.
Changes can only happen if the collective wants them, but the majority of time the collective isn't aware of the real scope of the problem. With Girls’ World I wanted to expose the 'real scope of the problem'. But the problem is so massive that I didn't ever finish the series. Too many other things happened (mainly Trump and the pandemic) and I couldn't find the time and mental space to finish it. I feel very bad about it, but there is so much research involved and it is so upsetting, that I am not sure when I will have the strength to finish it...
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
I totally understand that. I imagine that it's very difficult to create art focusing on violence against womxn and girls, and yet I think these artworks are so important too. I don't even think you have to finish this series, as the work you've already created within it is immensely powerful. Also, it seems poignant that this series is ongoing, just as the violence against womxn and girls on a global scale is continuing too.
What initially inspired you to use Barbies & other 'girly' toys when starting this series?
To <Liv Collins>
From <Lidia Lidia>
While I was researching about education, popular culture and stereotypes, I came across the Fulla doll, the Islamic version of Barbie. In that period, I was researching about women stoned to death, and it has been inevitable to think which sort of accessories need to be sold with them to reflect the reality of the women and girls from this society/religion.
And then I saw It's a Girl. At that moment the first work of Girls’ World arrived. But it just opened a door to the reality, of at least 80% of women and girls in the world. I started to research obsessively. The more I was learning/realizing, more I wondered what little girls should enact when playing with Barbies, if they want to represent what is the reality for the majority of women and girls in the world? And the answer is the series Girls’ World.
Missing Women, Girl’s World, © Lidia Lidia, Image Courtesy of the Artist
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
I just watched a clip of It's a Girl, and I feel really stunned by it. I knew that abandoning and aborting babies just because they are girls used to happen in many parts of the world (like in China during the One Child Policy) - but I didn't realise it was still so commonplace. It's beyond words how shocking and upsetting this is.
Your first work in Girls’ World, captures this global, violent & abhorrent fact in such a succinct way. The bright colours and the smiles of the Barbie's also hugely contrasts with what is going on in the image - it adds an edge of dark humour too.
Do you think you used colour and humour as a tool to deal with this difficult subject matter?
To <Liv Collins>
From <Lidia Lidia>
You should watch the whole documentary: it's horrifying to listen to a mother saying she killed several of her newborn babies, just because they were born female!!!!! It was really shocking to watch that documentary…
The aesthetic of Girls’ World means to recall the perfect polished pink world of Barbie. In that photo specifically (above), pink represent girls and blue for boys, (colours that in the western countries represented the most common gender stereotype from after World War II).
Also in Girls’ World – ‘It's All for Your Own Good’ (below) - the pink and blue are very important for the narrative and mood of the story. The protagonist of the story growing up, transitions from pink (the world of girls) to blue (the world of men). This last work is the only one of the series which is autobiographic: the passage from the pink to blue is what I tried to do to please my father, who repeated to me constantly that he wanted a boy, not a girl. He raised me saying that women are disgusting, so I tried very hard for many years to act as a boy to please him. For about 20 years of my life, I lived totally isolated from other women, feeling embarrassed and disgusted from myself because I was a female.
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
I'm so sorry to hear that, Lidia. It must have been really hard and confusing to grow up surrounded by all of that.
Was it in any way cathartic or healing to create this particular series? Using art as a way to process past trauma + experiences?
To <Liv Collins>
From <Lidia Lidia>
I didn't think for a sec to do the art for healing, but surely it helped me a lot to process and understand. I think that this is one of the reasons I find it very difficult to go back to finish this series. But surely it was cathartic!!!
It’s All For Your Own Good, Girl’s World, © Lidia Lidia, Image Courtesy of the Artist
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
I get that! So more broadly speaking, what role does photography play in your practice?
To <Liv Collins>
From <Lidia Lidia>
I am a transmedia/multidisciplinary artist, and I use different media depending on the story I try to depict, and how I would like to engage the audience. Often, I improvise learning to use new media. This is what happened with photography: I think constantly I should study it properly, because it is a medium that I could engage with so much more, if I just knew what I was doing...
But after performance, (first performance because I have a very physical background and because I love to see the immediate result of the conversation with the audience), it is my main tool/weapon. Giving me the chance to communicate to the world what I see, think and feel.
To <Lidia Lidia>
From <Liv Collins>
I like that. I think sometimes in can be useful to 'formally' learn how to use new media, but there's also something exciting about teaching yourself + experimenting as you go. Also, perhaps this allows you to find your style / process more organically too...
I'd love to hear what your plans, hopes and dreams are for the rest of this year!
To <Liv Collins>
From <Lidia Lidia>
Well, my main hope and dream for this year is that Trump doesn't get re-elected, because it will be very worrying for the whole world if he will again be the US president, and it would be very bad for US women. Do you know that under his administration, the definition of domestic violence changed?
In a smaller scale (I mean just thinking about myself), I would like to work on a series of durational interactive performances. And I would like to study some new technologies to apply to my practice. I feel that my practice isn't so sustainable anymore because I use a lot of props. It would be great to have more tech skills, and mixing photography with some CGI instead of using a lot of props. But I think that this last plan will take a lot longer than 1 year to reach the skills and quality I need....
I’m thinking about migrating part of my practice into the 'tech realm' for sustainable reasons. I am kind of scared to do it (to fail, because I need to gain very high-level skills to achieve the quality I need). I would happily carry on doing the installations I do using props! But I am aware that the crises we are going through are based on a cultural crisis. We, as artists, have a big responsibility in inspiring a cultural shift towards a world which is sustainable and fair. Changes are generally scary and difficult, but sometimes are inevitable. At the moment I think it is really necessary that everyone embraces their own responsibility to be part of collective change. I think every one of us can be (and must be...) an activist through their choices in daily life.
Her Fault, Girl’s World, © Lidia Lidia, Image Courtesy of the Artist
About Lidia Lidia
Lidia Lidia is a UK based transmedia artist working at the intersection of visual art, performance and activism. In her work, she investigates shared human experiences and the important concerns of the day.