foreign matter
materia ajena
This project was awarded the 2024 Prix Cézanne by the French Embassy in Uruguay.
Jury: Laurence Arnoux, Norberto Baliño, Laura Gerard, Florencia Martínez Aysa, Myriam Zini.
(EN) Should you wonder about the twisted shadows tracing my insides, I can only say that not even by scrubbing my skin to ruin, nor by rinsing my flesh down to the bone, have I managed to part from them. And if you do not wonder, perhaps it is because I still wander alone, sliding a finger along the edge between what I carry and what I am.
“Foreign matter” is a meditation on the experience of recognizing oneself as repulsive and estranged. The series explores the tension between desire and rejection, questioning the boundaries of identity and normative corporeality.
(ES) Si se preguntan por las sombras retorcidas que dibujan mis entrañas, solo puedo decirles que ni frotando mi piel hasta deshacerla, ni enjuagándome la carne hasta el hueso, he conseguido separarme de ellas. Y si no se lo preguntan, quizás sea porque aún deambulo sola, deslizando un dedo sobre el filo entre lo que cargo y lo que soy.
“Materia ajena” es una reflexión sobre la experiencia de reconocerse como repugnante y extraño. La serie explora la tensión entre el deseo y el rechazo, cuestionando los límites de la identidad y la corporalidad normativa.
– Silvina
Since 1982, the French Embassy in Uruguay has celebrated visual arts by organizing a competition to encourage the artistic creativity of young Uruguayan talents. The Prix Cézanne, named in honor of the “father of modern art,” has evolved over time into a true reference in the world of contemporary Uruguayan art. The 2024 Prix was awarded to Silvina Cortés Lasalle for her work ‘Foreign matter’, in the form of a three month residency in the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (October 2025).
2024 – series of stoneware and glass sculptures.