Topography of Memory is a new large-scale, ceramic installation by artist Sallisa Rosa. Commissioned by Audemars Piguet Contemporary the artwork has been on view at the Collins Park Rotunda in Miami Beach from 5-17 December coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. The installation will be followed by an extended presentation at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo from 16 March – 28 July 2024.
Topography of Memory marks Sallisa Rosa’s first solo exhibition in the U.S. and her first installation made entirely of ceramics. Sallisa Rosa (b. 1986, Goiânia, Brazil) works across photography, video, performance, and installations in her artistic practice. Her work explores human connection to the earth. She is interested in collaborating with communities and frequently uses collected clay as a material with a unique connection to the earth, land, and territory.
Sallisa Rosa: Topography of Memory / Audemars Piguet Contemporary. Collins Park Rotunda, Miami Beach, December 8, 2023.
— Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.
Exhibition text (excerpt):
Topography of Memory is an immersive installation that explores themes of memory, in particular, how memory can be reprogrammed. With this commission, Rosa’s aim is to explore our collective ways of remembering, drawing a connection between the erosion of the earth and the erosion of memory. Rosa’s uses collected clay in recognition of traditional knowledge and the preservation of non-industrial ways of working, as she believes ceramics have a symbolic capacity to store memory which can help us to remember.
Like many Brazilians of her generation, Rosa faces questions and confusion in trying to piece together her own ancestry. The fading memory of her grandmother, a core figure in bringing together the threads that make up her fragmented family history, is one of the main inspirations for Topography of Memory.
The installation comprises over 100 hand-made ceramic forms assembled from collected clay, including delicate spheres suspended in the air and stalagmite totems rising from the earth, together forming a landscape that invites meditation and a physical encounter by the viewer.
Sallisa Rosa (b. 1986, Goiânia, Brazil) lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is currently based in Amsterdam attending the Rijksakademie artist residency. She had her first solo exhibition at Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro in 2021. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at SNAP, Shanghai (2023); Visual Arts Center, Texas (2022); Théâtre de L’Usine, Geneva (2022); Royal Academy of Arts, London (2021); Paço das Artes, São Paulo (2021); Frestas – Trienal de Artes, Sorocaba (2020/21); Anya and Andrew Shiva Gallery, New York (2020); Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro (2020, 2017); Museu de Arte de São Paulo (2022, 2020, 2019); Banco do Brasil Centro Cultural, Rio de Janeiro (2019); and Barro de Caruaru Bienal (2019); among others. Rosa was nominated for the PIPA prize (2022, 2020) and is a recipient of the Prince Claus Fund Seed Award (2021).