Six Stations and a Golden Tooth by Lucija Rosc at PhMuseum Lab

Reuniting Lucija Rosc’s different bodies of work for the first time, this exhibition shapes a non-linear path inviting the visitor to take part and reflect on the rules that define the way we live.

Overview

Which are the dynamics entangling generations and what is left of them when the elders leave? How can we carry the legacy of those we love into the future? How much of who we are derives from the education we had at home and that of our school system?

Lucija Rosc offers no answer to these questions. They are rather a trigger to develop her research through playful, ambitious, and sometimes desperate attempts to understand. Her allies are her grandparents, who have a strong influence on her practice and embrace her mission. Their dialogue is open and rules-less. Most importantly, it is the vehicle through which they share their respective points of views, they exchange roles, and break generational boundaries.

The spark can be a golden tooth veneer that Marija Kobale, known as Mica, had implanted in 1960s Yugoslavia. What was a practical and fashionable choice to treat a dying tooth at the time, later became a gift for her granddaughter Lucija. Rather than melting it and selling the gold, she used it to coat her own dying tooth in today’s Slovenia. Beyond the peculiar system to preserve wealth across generations, this exchange is an unprecedented act of love and connection. It is a statement of how objects, with the passage of time, transform into powerful symbols, layered with personal and collective meaning.

It can be the ruler she used in school, which represents the rules and standardization imposed by the education system that accompanies our growth from childhood to adulthood. It can be the everyday and often strange stuff that her grandparents collected and preserved for years thinking they would be of use for Lucija, and that are now actually incorporated in her artistic practice. Objects are always at the core. The story they hide is a constant source of inspiration, the imaginary they represent is there to be explored, deconstructed and rebuilt.

What might seem like a series of nostalgic, purposeless exercises is instead a strong statement of particular relevance these days. It reminds us of the importance of cultivating bonds and friendships. It invites us to think of play as a fundamental way of relating to the world, and to question the rules that define the way we live. It suggests that we can find ways to deal with time passing, and with our fear of loss. It proves that we can always construct something meaningful and new together, and that beauty is oftentimes residing in the things we always had right next to us.

------------------------

Where: PhMuseum Lab, Via Paolo Fabbri, 10/2a, 40138, Bologna
When: 05 June - 25 September 2025
Admission: Free
Vernissage: 05 June 2025, 6.00PM - 9.00PM
Opening Days: 26 June, 17 July, and 25 September from 5pm-7pm. Other dates on appointment only