Avvassena

Avvassena (b. 1998) is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Milan, Italy. Her practice is rooted in a deep interest in the human condition and in the complex relationships individuals form with one another and with their environment, resulting in an eclectic and layered approach to visual communication. Moving beyond the surface of society, Avvassena’s work seeks to uncover hidden, overlooked, or unheard realities. Her artistic research is driven by a desire to question appearances and to reveal the underlying structures—emotional, social, and ecological—that shape contemporary life. At the core of Avvassena’s practice is an exploration of relationships that define human existence: the often contradictory dialogue with the self; the ambivalent connection to the micro-world that surrounds us; the individual’s position within the broader human community, caught between interdependence and the egocentric solitude characteristic of our time; and the collective responsibility humans share toward the environment.

The Neoteric: Seeds recure throughout your work as symbols of continuity and transformation. What draws you to seed forms as visual anchors, and how do they help you explore concepts of memory, ancestry, and the
cyclical nature of time?

The Neoteric : Your work consistently begins with human relationships—between the self, others, and the environment. What internal questions or tensions first compel you to start a new body of work?

Avvassena : I’m driven by internal questions that arise from observing how individuals (including myself) relate to themselves, to others, and to their surrounding environment—often in contradictory ways. There is a tension between intimacy and distance, care and neglect, interdependence and the egocentric solitude that characterizes much of contemporary life. These questions emerge through direct encounters and listening: fragments of lived experiences, silenced realities, or overlooked connections that ask to be made visible. The work starts when I feel the urgency to transform these shared traces into a visual space where personal reflection and collective awareness can coexist, allowing hidden layers of human and environmental relationships to surface.

The Neoteric: Ubuntu philosophy plays a central role in your practice, framing identity as something formed through interdependence. How did this Southern African Bantu philosophy enter your artistic thinking, and how has it reshaped the way you understand authorship and individuality?

Avvassena : Ubuntu entered my artistic thinking gradually, first as an ethical intuition and later as a conscious philosophical framework. What began as an instinctive resonance became the subject of long research and reflection: I was deeply drawn to how such an ancient, seemingly simple worldview could offer a radically clear response to the complexity, fragmentation, and dramas of contemporary life. The more I studied Ubuntu, the more I realized that its strength lies precisely in its simplicity—its capacity to hold complexity without simplifying it, and to address conflict, isolation, and crisis through relational thinking rather than separation. This perspective has deeply influenced the way I conceive the work itself: as a space shaped by encounters, shared presence, and mutual dependence, where meaning emerges through relationships rather than fixed positions.

The Neoteric: Many of your works use X-rays, organic remnants, and found materials charged with lived histories. What draws you to materials that already carry archival remnants, and how do you decide when a material has “spoken enough” within a work?

Avvassena : I’m drawn to materials that already carry traces of lived experience because they actively participate in the work rather than serving as neutral supports. X-rays, organic remnants, and found materials hold memories, silences, and symbolic resonances that mirror the human and environmental relationships I investigate. They function as intermediaries between what is intimate and what is collective, between what is visible and what remains hidden. In my process, materials guide the evolution of the work as much as I do. Their physical qualities, their fragility, and their histories influence form, rhythm, and spatial presence.

The Neoteric : Your process often involves transforming scientific or medical imagery into poetic, almost cosmic forms. How do you navigate the boundary between scientific aesthetics and emotional or spiritual resonance?

Avvassena : Scientific and medical imagery fascinates me because it simultaneously preserves the trace of individual uniqueness and reveals a condition of absolute equality. Each image carries the imprint of a specific life—human or non-human—yet at the same time dissolves singular identity into shared structures, reminding us that we are all part of one larger organism. Alongside medical images of the human body, I’m deeply interested in scientific imagery of nature seen under the microscope. At that scale, distinctions between human, animal, and vegetal life begin to blur. Cells, tissues, and organic patterns reveal striking visual affinities, suggesting a common language beneath apparent differences. What draws me to these images is precisely this tension: they highlight uniqueness while affirming deep connection. The almost invisible yet solid ties between these traces become a metaphor for the relationships that bind us together—between individuals, communities, and the environment. By shifting these images away from their analytical or diagnostic function and working with light, scale, and spatial repetition, I allow them to move toward a contemplative dimension. In this space, scientific precision opens onto emotional and spiritual resonance, where life is no longer perceived as fragmented, but as fundamentally interconnected.

The Neoteric : Direct dialogue and exchange with others are foundational to your methodology. How do these encounters shape the final form of your installations, and what responsibilities do you feel toward the people whose traces become part of the work?

Avvassena : I am drawn to materials and images not for what they are in themselves, but for the ways in which they carry traces of life and relationships—whether organic remnants, found objects, X-rays, or microscopic views of natural forms. Each medium brings its own histories and resonances, and through them I explore how individuality and interconnection coexist. What fascinates me is that these traces, despite their differences, reveal subtle ties that bind beings and environments together. In my practice, materials are not just tools but active collaborators: they shape form, light, and space, and guide the evolution of the work. This allows me to create environments where viewers can sense both intimacy and universality, and reflect on the fragile, interconnected systems that sustain life.

The Neoteric: Installations like Ubuntu. I am because we are and Oceanic Humanity visualize collective bodies—fragile yet interconnected. What challenges arise when translating such expansive, ethical ideas into spatial and visual experiences?

Avvassena : Translating collective and ethical ideas into spatial form is always a challenge, because the work must remain open and avoid becoming didactic. I approach it through fragility, light, and material presence, creating environments where viewers can sense interdependence rather than simply understand it. Each element—material, space, or gesture—acts as a mediator between intimacy and universality, allowing vulnerability to become a form of connection. In inhabiting these spaces, the audience encounters both personal reflection and collective awareness, experiencing the subtle ties that link individuals, communities, and the environment.

The Neoteric: Looking back, was there a turning point or breakthrough moment when your practice shifted—from design-oriented communication to a more embodied, relational artistic language?

The Neoteric: You have mentored children and led workshops across schools, malls, and community spaces. How has teaching shaped you as an artist? And what have young people taught you about looking, creating,
or imagining?

Avvassena : I have always been drawn to art—it has been the natural way I engage with the world. My training in design gave me a structured, project-based perspective, but it never replaced this impulse. Over time, I realized that I could not work any other way: my life and energy are dedicated to creating art. Design informs my process, but my practice is guided by intuition, relational exchange, and exploration rather than predefined solutions. This awareness allowed me to embrace uncertainty and complexity as central tools, marking the path toward the relational, process-oriented artistic language I pursue today.

The Neoteric: Your works often reveal what lies beneath surfaces—skin, bark, water, bone. What does this recurring descent into hidden layers reveal about how you see contemporary society today?

Avvassena : By exploring what lies beneath—whether in human bodies, natural forms, or the traces of lived experience—I aim to reveal the subtle and often overlooked connections that shape our existence. These hidden layers carry histories, memories, and relationships, and in bringing them to light, the work becomes a space where intimacy and universality intersect. Through this process, materials, light, and space are not just tools but active participants, mediating between individual experience and collective awareness. The goal is to create an environment where viewers can sense the interdependencies that bind us to each other and to the natural world, fostering reflection, empathy, and a shared sense of responsibility.

The Neoteric : In the context of the Anthropocene, your practice insists on shared responsibility rather than separation. How do you hope viewers emotionally or physically carry this awareness beyond the exhibition space?

Avvassena : By exploring what lies beneath—whether in human bodies, natural forms, or the traces of lived experience—I seek to bring to light the often-overlooked connections that shape our existence. These layers reveal relationships, histories, and interdependencies, allowing the work to become a space where the intimate and the universal meet.

The Neoteric: As your work continues to evolve across installation, sculpture, and light-based environments, what questions are driving your practice now—and where do you imagine your research expanding in the future?

Avvassena : My practice continues to evolve around questions of connection, interdependence, and the traces that shape our relationships with each other and the world. Materials, light, and space remain central, guiding the process as it unfolds. The research is never fixed; it develops in dialogue with people, environments, and ideas, leaving the conceptual core open to future directions and discoveries.

(c) 2026