Serpent Ritual
The installation Serpent Ritual combines the organic and the mechanical by bringing together a snake skin and a vacuum cleaner. The snake skin that goes through the exhibition wall is animated by the air propelled by the device to which it is connected. As part of the series The Devices, Serpent Ritual explores the “metaphysical dimension of everyday machines.” The work refers to the many traditional rituals associated with snakes, notably the Hopi tradition analysed by Aby Warburg in his book The Serpent Ritual, which Sarah Ancelle Schönfeld invokes in her description of the assemblage. The artist appropriates and updates the ritual by associating the animal with a vacuum cleaner. She links it to the etymology of the term “spirit,” i.e. to the breath that she tries to materialise within her installation. In this way, she infuses a spiritual dimension into the household appliance and offers a new perspective on our daily lives. In 2017, she created a new version of the installation for the exhibition Keep Being Touched at the Centre d’Art Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
Text written by Suzana Danilovic as part of the partnership between the École du Louvre and Lafayette Anticipations – Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin.
Exhibition
Galleria Mario Iannelli, Rome (Italie)
from 11 May to 01 Jun 2016