Zérui — So Alea

Bloody Lipstick, Blooming dirt; 2023
Curated by Indira Béraud & Marco Galvan, ZÉRUÌ, London

Back to Dirt, Exhibitions

The exhibition Bloody Lipstick, Blooming Dirt, presented at ZÉRUÌ, brings together Henry Kitcher, Meryl Yana, and the duo Aléa, composed of Stella Lee Prowse and Miriam Josi. Adopting three radically different approaches to technique, the artists delve into the underlying notion of ‘control’ that rules our relationship with the natural environment and its aesthetic. Together, the artworks evoke an urban landscape against the backdrop of a sunset stained with blood.
Aléa’s installation, BTD N.1 (2023), produced in-situ, takes its place in the centre of the gallery: a mound of earth from which buildings of mycelium are sprouting and growing. The process of myco-fabrication usually occurs in laboratories or other such sterile environments to isolate the organisms and prevent contamination. Moving away from this approach, and from the use of conventional tools, the duo has adopted a ‘dirty’ process that allows the mycelium to thrive. They would let it evolve spontaneously within the ground instead of confining it in plastic moulds. The work was installed about ten days before the exhibition’s opening to allow it time to ‘grow’. This innovative technique, which involves treating the material as a collaborator, gives rise to unexpected forms. To the rear of the gallery is a small room that the artists have taken over. Transformed into a cabinet of curiosities, it gathers their research on this experimental design practice: drawings, notes, and small totems detail their process. (Excerpt of text by India Béraud)