In the paradigm of conceptual art, performance shares its austerity with other means of representation. In cases where, beyond the body and its expressivity in space-time, a material element is used, the selection is crucial: in the best performances, the object is simple, modest, and of everyday use. Its significance, however, grounds us in a specific place and time; at the same time, it expands our imagination from the concrete to the universal. Like a magical talisman, capable of aligning local and conceptual coordinates.
This occurs in Monica Mura’s piece The Soap Wall with Aleppo soap. Whether in block form or as a simple bar manipulated by the artist, it connects us with that and other wars we forget under the agenda of the media. At the same time, it relates to every personal, social, and human situation that would require our commitment rather than “washing our hands” in indifference.
And yet, washing our hands is a gesture we also need to perform when care is required, before healing or cooking… we need to wash our hands to start a new page. And to restart hope.