LIVED TRACES

The scrapyard is the phantasmagoric flip side of our throwaway society. It is where discarded, used, consumed, and leftover items disappear—seemingly without a trace. Petra Polli explores this excess of the consumer society in a series of metal sculptures that she found in scrapyards. She often preserves the fragmented, twisted, and crumpled forms of these objects, giving them a fresh coat of paint that bestows a flawlessly smooth surface, making the marks of time seem to vanish. Some metal objects are combined by the artist with lines and words in neon. On one metal surface, for instance, a violet neon line stretches like a lifeline across it. These found objects, which have been stripped of their original purpose, are thus given new life by the artist.

Garage, 2023 Car sheet metal, paint, neon
GS-22-02, 2022, Aluminium, paint, 41x63x29cm

GS-22-05, 2022, Aluminium, paint, 87x77x27cm
GS-22-06, 2022, Aluminium 95x50x45cm

GS-22-03, 2022, Aluminium, paint, 41x63x29cm
Mut, 2022, Aluminium, paint, neon, 42x60x18cm

GS-22-01, 2022, Aluminium 33x52x15cm
GS-22-04, 2022, Steel, paint, 70x83x30cm
GS-22-07, 2022, Aluminium, paint, 73x20x8cm
GS-22-02, 2022, Aluminium, argon, 104x95cm