We all have merits and flaws. The greatness of being human often consists in combining these contrasting aspects, which make us imperfect, but unique. Being able to expose even the worst of oneself is not easy, but it can be an ironic way to relieve tensions and play with social conventions.
In her project Persona, presented at the 2022 edition of Oplà – Performing Activities, artist Muna Mussie wanted to emphasise precisely this concept, with the intention of making visitors accept – and perhaps appreciate – their worst flaw, through a performance of embroidery and communication.
MIC wanted to support the artist, providing her with a reflective yarn that would make her performance more visible. PERSONA (2022) Muna Mussie’s project for Oplà 2022 is called PERSONA. It consists of an ad personam encounter mediated by the practice of sewing, in which language becomes a political-affective space. After several studies and developing her own sewing and embroidery technique, Muna wanted to approach the public, looking for a way to apply her knowledge in conjunction with a theme that would appeal to an audience of all ages.
The time of research and experimentation is the time I need to acquire new knowledge and progress in the development of a poetics that does not seek to crystallise, but to constantly listen and discuss.” Muna Mussie
Persona is an intimate experience, the result of a private dialogue that visitors to the fair had with the artist, in order to externalise some of their inner traits. During the fair, Muna, totally disguised in a black dress and a mirrored face, asked visitors to confess their worst defect, and in a process of acceptance, she finally proposed to have it embroidered on one of the items of clothing they wore. The confrontation with his own image, reflected in the mirror mask, and the dialogue accompanied several visitors on an inner journey towards self-acceptance and self-limitations.
The artist’s embroidery technique made it possible to fix on a dress of the participants’ choice a word that encapsulated what came out of the inner dialogue. The use of a reflective yarn – REFLECT-MIC – enabled the result to be emphasised. OPLÀ PERFORMING ACTIVITIES From 13 to 15 May 2022, Arte Fiera in Bologna welcomed a new cycle of performative actions.
It is Oplà Performing Activities: a contemporary fair that creates occasions, contexts and times that aim to show not what art is, but what art does. Oplà insinuates performances into a functional context, activating the possibility of participation and sharing in the live work. The artists who participated in the fair chose different ways to express themselves. Muna Mussie, with her text embroidery project, proposed Persona.
“Welcoming the space that hosts me is a way for me to be welcomed by the space; to create alliances of intent; to exchange information; to create coalitions between mutually intrusive bodies. Entering a space is a creative coexistence with rules that are partly inscribed and partly writable”. Muna Mussie
