Lara Dâmaso
Exercise In Facelessness (public)

Lara Dâmaso explores the paradox of disappearance through heightened presence. In this evocative work, the artist stages a visceral confrontation with visibility and identity, engaging in a ritual of dissolution through embodiment. Through a process of improvised vocalization – moving from breath to sound to melody – the artist investigates the tension between intimacy and spectacle, the domestic and the public, the face and the persona.

The performance is marked by an intense use of light: glaring spotlights illuminate the body to the point of overexposure, transforming illumination into a kind of visual erasure. The setup includes reflective surfaces that return the light to the audience, nearly blinding the gaze and underscoring the violence of excessive visibility. What emerges is a transcendental state in which the voice becomes the only trace – bodily present, yet slipping away. In this staged yet uncontainable moment, the artist invites the audience to witness the act of appearing as a form of disappearance.

The performance stands in close conversation with the artist’s video work exercise in facelessness (domestic) (2025) in the exhibition Burn The Diaries, Read Them Out Loud.

The performance is free of charge with a valid exhibition ticket.

Lara Dâmaso (b. 1996, Biel, Switzerland) studied Medienkunst at Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig and fine arts at Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Zurich. Dâmaso’s work has previously been shown at Atonal, Berlin; Basel Social Club; Triennale Milano, Milan; We travel to know our own geography,Terraforma x Kuboraum (60th Venice Biennale) (all 2024); DeSingel, Antwerp (2023, 2024); Centre Pompidou, Paris; Tanzquartier, Wien; Gessnerallee, Zurich (all 2023); Krone Couronne, Biel; Istituto Svizzero, Milan (both 2022); Kunsthalle Bern (2019 and 2022); MASI, Lugano; Kunsthaus Langenthal (both 2021); and Kunsthalle Zurich (2020). Dâmaso lives and works in Biel and Milan.