Valia Russo
Visual Artist
My goal is to question mass production and the illusion of spiritual and material ecstasy conveyed by images. Villa Swagatan offers fertile ground to explore cultural authenticity and the scripted realities of our visual era. My 'Junkspace' project reflects on India's visual saturation and kitsch, linking it to Rem Koolhaas's theory of generic spaces, and examines how globalization and urbanization transform India’s visual and cultural identity.
Valia Russo is a visual artist based in Paris and Arles. A graduate of École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie and Central Saint Martins, he explores photography, sculpture, video, and installation. Valia’s work examines the manipulation and loss of image credibility, focusing on the mass production and superficiality of images. By recycling and reappropriating images, he creates dystopian, absurd assemblages that critique the artificial and wasteful aspects of contemporary visual culture.
