When the Tongue is Free, the Hands Learn to Speak

Lito Studio is pleased to present When the Tongue is Free, the Hands Learn to Speak, a group exhibition curated by Damini Yadav that brings together emerging contemporary artists whose practices engage with labour, care, and the often invisible structures that shape everyday life. The exhibition emerges from an understanding of labour rooted in maintenance and care work, the continuous acts through which we sustain ourselves, one another, and our environments. Drawing inspiration from feminist discourses on Maintenance Art and the writings and practices of artists such as Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Martha Rosler, Andrea Fraser, and Mary Kelly, the exhibition examines forms of work that frequently go unrecognised despite their essential role in sustaining both individuals and communities. The upkeep of spaces, care for oneself and others, repetitive domestic tasks, and the emotional effort required to maintain relationships are rarely acknowledged as labour. Yet these activities shape lived experience and leave lasting traces on the body through gesture, posture, fatigue, and habit.

Through performance, sculpture, installation, moving image, painting, and expanded material practices, the participating artists explore the relationship between care and work, while also considering how artistic practice itself can operate as a form of labour, resistance, and care. The exhibition features works by Rebeka Xhaxha, Vasil Sharkov, Lara Amaya, Sofia Giacomelli, Elio Falcone, Polina Bolsheva, Elif Karatekin, Khushika Vansia, Pham Thi Diep Giang and Abhinav Kafare, with opening performances by Stefania Alexandra Meleaca and Ylenia Raviola.

When the Tongue is Free, the Hands Learn to Speak invites viewers to look beyond conventional definitions of labour and reflect on the emotional, mental, and psychological burdens that often remain unseen, yet profoundly shape everyday life.