Yto Barrada. Deadhead

La Merz Foundation hosts DEADHEADa solo exhibition by the artist Yto Barradawinner of the fourth edition of the Mario Merz Prize. The exhibition is curated by Davide Quadrio with Giulia Turconiin collaboration with the MAO Museum of Oriental Art.

The title DEADHEAD refers to the horticultural practice of removing wilted flowers to stimulate plant growth. This metaphor of returning to the essential to release new energy is reflected in the works on display, which include films, sculptures, installations, textiles and prints, some created especially for the occasion.

Among the inspirations of the exhibition, Yto Barrada's research on colour theory stands out. Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and his book Colour Problems: A Practical Manual for the Lay Student of Colour (1902). Vanderpoel transformed images into geometric grids through a systematic arrangement of the colour spectrum, calling it 'music of light'.

In the series Colour Analysispremiered at the MAO during the exhibition Translations of Eurasia (2023-24), Barrada presents hand-dyed velvet grids. Applying Vanderpoel's technique, the artist transforms images from Vanderpoel's personal collection of antiquities, selected works from the MAO's Islamic art collection and a drawing by Marisa Merz. Many of the natural dyes used were produced in The Mothershipan artistic project conceived by Barrada as eco-feminist campus in his garden in Tangier, dedicated to cultivating and learning about natural dyes and lost indigenous traditions.