My heart is empty like a mirror - Cape Town episode 2019

Curator: The visual impact is striking, isn’t it? The lines and repetition immediately recall minimalist strategies. Editor: Indeed. It feels almost sterile, despite the evident decay in the room. Curator: Let's discuss Gian Maria Tosatti’s "My heart is empty like a mirror - Cape Town episode," a mixed-media installation from 2019. Its primary component is a multitude of glass bottles, arranged in a precise, almost architectural manner within what appears to be a dilapidated room. Editor: The title is key, really, especially given the socio-political contexts of Cape Town. Are we to consider the ‘emptiness’ in relation to historical injustices, like apartheid, that continue to reverberate? The mirrored reflection could point to a confrontation with that history. Curator: An intriguing point. One cannot ignore the visual echo of seriality and its implications within minimalism. The modularity here certainly points to systems, though, in this case, less about ideal forms than potentially commenting on societal structure. Editor: I agree, but what also strikes me is the choice of discarded materials within a space so obviously marked by neglect. Is there commentary here on the cycle of consumption and abandonment as a mirror, even, of certain social policies? It's difficult to separate the visual presentation from those potential references. Curator: I’d argue that the materiality – the glass, the damaged walls – contributes to a larger structural harmony within the piece. The contrast and balance provide the overall feeling of the installation. However, there’s no denying the work is an invitation for such interpretations. Editor: And perhaps that dialogue between form and context is precisely where its power resides. Tosatti manages to synthesize, and create space for discourse that reflects, our own "emptiness." Curator: Precisely. It demonstrates the power of minimal interventions and arrangements to elicit incredibly layered conceptual outcomes. Editor: A compelling encounter of materials, space, and context; this pushes our understanding to be more intersectional when considering what 'emptiness' means in contemporary art and in our social ecosystems.