In her performance piece „(29)“, Daniela Monica Sara delves into the internalised experiences of female socialisation. She examines the expectations imposed on the female body in a patriarchal society, and how these expectations become embedded in the body.
The performance consists of 29 vases, each representing a year of her life, painted, marked and remembered by the artist. The sequence of numbers – 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 – reflects significant moments in her journey. Through the performative activation of these objects, the artist seeks to create a space in which the dynamics of structural sexualised power can be confronted.
Whose perspective shapes the narratives we hear and how are situations evaluated? In this work, the vases symbolise the body, transforming themselves into vessels that hold memories of encounters, traumas and love. The artist takes on the role of creator and performer, shaping, filling, emptying and painting these vessels. „(29) is a quest for self-empowerment, an intimate exploration of the experiences that have shaped the artist’s life.
„The hero as bottle, a stringent reevaluation. I now propose the bottle as hero. Not just the bottle of gin or wine, but bottle in its older sense of container in general, a thing that holds something else.“ – The Carrier Bag Theorie of Fiction; Ursula K. Le Guin

Stoneware casting technique, transparent glaze inside, acrylic spraypaint
With the support from the rosa schelling foundation, Zollikon