Interview: Lilian Frei
Luca Curci talks with Lilian Frei during Fragmented Identities, the second appointment of Borders Art Fair 2021, at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello

After training as a sculptor at the Scuola di Scultura in Peccia Switzerland and at the Académia de la Escuela Massana in Barcelona, Lilian Frei studied art education at the School of Art and Design F + F in Zürich Switzerland. Now, she is holding a master’s in Expressive Arts and Psychology at the European University in Leuk / Saas-Fee Switzerland.

If Lilian Frei was to write about her art, it would be easier for her to write about surviving in this world. She needs something to fight against or with and she seeks to set a focus on questions rather than answers. In this way, she researches and explores new ways of thinking which are connected with our society. Especially in times of the lockdown, when the Performance Passaparola was developed, the artist asked: How do people deal with this flood of information?

Luca Curci – What’s your background?
Lilian Frei – I have been working as a multidisciplinary artist for 30 years. I am most interested in performance art.

LC – Do you use art to express something in particular? Is it your medium of expression?  
LF – I take everyday situations that touch me and I always look for a poetic way in the performance.

LC – Which art themes do you pursue? What is your preferred subject, if there is any?
LF – My preferred subjects are the human being in 2021 and everything I can’t explain with words.

LC – Which is the role the artist plays in society? And contemporary art?
LF – The artist has no role to fulfil. He or she is free to express and choose the themes to focus on. In my case, it is important to me to make a statement about world events and I can express this at best with performance art. The audience becomes part of the performance and I find it very interesting. It becomes an interaction. The unexpected interests me. The surprise, the transcendence.

LC – How is the message linked to the artwork you have shown in this exhibition? How is it connected to the theme of the entire festival?
LF – The message linked to the work I presented in the exhibition is focused on human identities, world politics, hope and powerlessness. I think that all of these themes suit properly “Fragmented Identities”, the theme of the exhibition.

LC – Can you explain something about the artworks you have in our exhibition?
LF – I did a performance at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello. I made a pressed dress with different international newspapers. The dress serves as protection but it is also a burden. I threw the dress into the lagoon to wash and used water to create the globe. 

LC -What do you think about ITSLIQUID Platform?
LF – I’m just getting to know this platform and I’m still curious.

LC – What are your suggestions about our services? Is there something more we can provide to artists?
LF – The good thing is that the platform offers a stage in different places and that is very interesting.

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists?
LF – Yes, of course. Every opportunity to show your work gives to the artistic work a development. If someone arouses curiosity about your work, he or she has the opportunity to get to know the artist. In this sense, ITSLIQUID GROUP is a good investment.