Sterre Fermin

In her work, Sterre Fermin searches for the borders of bodies and the way they intertwine by looking at rust and using her own body. She compares rust with her human body, and, beyond comparison, she explores with curiosity the meaning of rust through her body as the research material. Through sensing, feeling, touching and an attempt at becoming, she experiences a certain equivalence and therefore calls rust a body. This brings her to the question of where the separation between her body and the body of rust really is. Rust is present in our blood and both a body of rust and a human body need water and oxygen to grow and be alive. The inherent eroticism in her bodily research is something that intrigues Sterre. She hints to the erotic by showing the viewer up-close shots of her naked rusty body or a macro shot of rust growing and moving which feels intimate yet slightly dirty. The macro videos are likewise a way for Sterre to show the liveliness and aliveness of rust,  only confirming the idea of a similarity if not an extension of Sterre’s human body. The organic rust is often placed against industrial concrete, eating its foundation which creates a tension between the industrial and the organic. Sterre's research is often concluded in a recorded performance, sculpture and installation. There, the viewer will likely meet her body where she searches, feels, questions and reflects on her findings in her rusty work, which is in constant motion.

This page was last updated on June 15, 2023