"The Happiness of the Others" BY Artist Elsa Martini

 WAS BEAUTIFUL NOTHING HURT 

Drawn by the art of writing, I chose this beautiful saying to install it in a pond in an Indian village, during the B.Biennale. The basin was misused, polluted and the villages still use it for fishing, laundry, bathing. 

This saying in the past intrigued me to relate it to the damage we are doing through our endless appetite to be better, richer, using the resources of nature without limits. 

Writing is such an ancient as well as contemporary element, but in 

this case, it can only be read mirrored.This symbolic reflection aims to give the viewer a different perspective, time and chance to reflect on the awareness about nature and take responsibility for our actions. 

Water and text are two seemingly unrelated elements, but water with its ability to reflect gives us the opportunity to read in this cace, enlightens us. 

Site specific Bang. Biennale 2019, Kolkata, India 

FAMILY BUNKER

Growing up in a communist country has influenced my work in unforeseen manners. My work reflects the collapse of a utopian social and political context in 1991, resulting in a sense of emptiness, confusion, and constraints.

Family Bunker depicts a phantasmagoric element of the past, the bunker, which appears in the lives of the new generation, often in their own property, causing confusion. I aim to address the unspoken trauma that is passed on to future generations.

Mix media on canvas, 110 x 180 cm, Tirana 2007

 "My brother is the biggest man in the world"

For an independent artist, it doesn't make much difference whether he is alone in his studio or alone in quarantine. It was a pleasant feeling not to be ashamed of not running to a certain job every morning. It was a feeling of unity with the world, even in the worst times. I liked when the air became cleaner during quarantine and I felt a slight nostalgia for the radiant air of this landscape in Albania. This painting, made during quarantine, depicts the summer days on the silent and wild beaches of Albania.The moments and landscapes we took for granted.This beach is not longer the same. The beaches have been stolen from the stupidity of people greedy for reach. It is a phenomenon that accompanies Albania as it opens up to the world and shapes a new identity, at a cost that we do not yet know how high it will be for us.

Acrylic, pencil, spray on canvas; 50 x 70, 2020

HAPPINESS OF THE OTHER

 is an ongoing series, divided into three parts.

       HAPPINESS OF THE OTHER italiian series 2018 

HAPPINESS OF THE OTHER albanian series 2019

The first and second one relate to the Second World War in Austria and Italy, where the focus is on women and children who did not actively participate in this war. However, they were family members of men who served as soldiers in the SS or in other positions. These two series are being shown at the Nippon Gallery Mumbai  2022.

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Elsa Martini graduated from the Academy of Arts in Tirana in 1996 in monumental painting class, then certified by the University of Applied Arts in Vienna in 2011 and Institut für Kulturkonzepte in 2012.  

Martini is a conceptual artist who has developed a complex artistic practice over the decades. She sought the approach to broaden the horizons of the works, which move between painting and multimedia, site-specific and performance. The artist deals with tensions between the individual, society and environment; examines and reflects on personal behavior and social trauma, questioning boundaries, space, environment, and gender issues. Elsa Martini is also passionate about exploring other cultures. At different times, we witness vernacular influences in her works.

www.elsamartini.com

Elsa Martini – www.instagram.com/elsamartinistudio/