Lito Studio is pleased to present When the Tongue is Free, the Hands Learn to Speak, a group
exhibition curated by Damini Yadav that brings together emerging contemporary artists whose
practices engage with labour, care, and the often invisible structures that shape everyday life.
The exhibition emerges from an understanding of labour rooted in maintenance and care work,
the continuous acts through which we sustain ourselves, one another, and our environments.
Drawing inspiration from feminist discourses on Maintenance Art and the writings and
practices of artists such as Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Martha Rosler, Andrea Fraser, and Mary
Kelly, the exhibition examines forms of work that frequently go unrecognised despite their
essential role in sustaining both individuals and communities.
The upkeep of spaces, care for oneself and others, repetitive domestic tasks, and the emotional
effort required to maintain relationships are rarely acknowledged as labour. Yet these activities
shape lived experience and leave lasting traces on the body through gesture, posture, fatigue,
and habit.
Through performance, sculpture, installation, moving image, painting, and expanded material
practices, the participating artists explore the relationship between care and work, while also
considering how artistic practice itself can operate as a form of labour, resistance, and care.
The exhibition features works by Rebeka Xhaxha, Vasil Sharkov, Lara Amaya, Sofia
Giacomelli, Elio Falcone, Polina Bolsheva, Elif Karatekin, Khushika Vansia, Pham Thi Diep
Giang and Abhinav Kafare, with opening performances by Stefania Alexandra Meleaca and
Ylenia Raviola.
When the Tongue is Free, the Hands Learn to Speak invites viewers to look beyond
conventional definitions of labour and reflect on the emotional, mental, and psychological
burdens that often remain unseen, yet profoundly shape everyday life.
