Ballet stick, 2023

Ash wood, aluminium rods, plexiglass, spraypaint, 3D print

Ballet stick embark on a journey that offers insight into disciplinary systems, in an effort to create performative objects with the possibility of using a diverse spectrum of gestures, movements and strategies in the field of ballet. My goal was to create a spatial narrative that intricately connects my interest in disciplinary systems and their deep psychological and emotional implications. In my work, I focus on suggestive reconstructions and deconstructions of the ballet barre, referring to concepts of discipline and the evolving aesthetics of ballet in the digital space, while latently drawing subtle references from my own life experiences. The deliberate placement of three aluminum rods symbolizes the unrelenting pursuit of balance, reflecting the youthful flexibility of the dancers' bodies, and thus becomes a metaphor for the discipline of adolescent bodies, placing ballet as a symbol of high culture in dialogue with the undercurrents of toxicity that this discipline carries. The ballet hall installation itself becomes a stage for an exploration of contemporary cultural unrest, referencing themes of exhaustion, cuteness and discipline, while inviting an examination of self-colonization within Western internet discourse.