Traum means dream in German, but in Italian and English it sounds like the word trauma. With the performance and accompanying sculptures that comprise TRAUM, it is Silvia Giambrone’s intention to remind us of the dream-like reality that trauma can instigate.
The artist has written the stories of those who struggle with traumatic memories on the ceramic sculptural sheets of paper, documenting the role their experiences have played in forming different parts of their identities and realities. In the artist’s own words, “TRAUM addresses domestic violence from the perspective of a survivor who goes in and out of the trauma when telling their condition. Sometimes survivors (both children and adults) act like onlookers because violence (trauma) gave them a detached perspective in order to survive.
Sometimes, they find themselves immersed in it with no exit strategy. And other times they even feel like they were the abusers even if it rationally makes no sense.” As a piece of performance art, TRAUM aims to articulate the often painfully inexpressible and isolating aspects of trauma. Giambrone offers a space where audience members become collective witnesses to a shared experience of catharsis. Through the sound of the ceramic sheets breaking, Giambrone creates an opportunity to share and heal collectively.