LO SMAZZO, 2021
CRT monitors, speakers, pigment print on self-adhesive polypropylene, neon signs, 12” vinyl record, artist book, artist-made wooden plinth. Dimensions variable.
Lo Smazzo is Italian slang that literally means “fanning cards” and loosely translates to “hustling,” describing the daily grind or the effort to get by. With a bold pop aesthetic, Scozzaro arranges a series of artworks as if in a convenience store, questioning marketing, consumer culture, and the commodification of art itself. Using neon signage, patterned wallpaper, a vinyl record, a book, and a music video streaming through a stack of CRT monitors, he deconstructs the notion of a “commodity store,” playfully critiquing the cult of personality, self-promotion, and competition embedded in contemporary culture.
LAND OF THE FREAK (HOME OF THE BRAVE), 2021
Single-channel HD video, color, sound on 3 CRT monitors. 11 min. 15 sec.
In the liberating act of dancing, the artist performs alone within an immersive installation filled with simulacra of his own image, exploring self-presentation in today’s digital world. Drawing on advertising, nostalgic TV aesthetics, and current social media tropes, he creates a playful yet uncanny tableau that challenges the rhetoric and power structures underlying mainstream media and consumer culture.