In Katia Bassanini's video, Wrecks, a series of 25 small actions and performances are repetitively executed, forging an association between diverse elements: a parrot, a trash can, the churning surf of the beach, as well as a character alternately dressed as George Washington and a cheerleading cowboy. The title suggests a shipwreck, but the action allows for open-ended possibilities. By moving these props and characters within the steady perspective of a fixed camera, Wrecks produces a sense of mirage and visual limits. Defined by these limits, a politicized space is created between the firm ground of the beach and the larger context implied by the waters of the sea.

Katia Bassanini lives in Lugano, Switzerland and New York. Her work has been widely exhibited throughout Switzerland, France, and Italy. Recent solo exhibitions include The House in the Woods, Galerie Laurin, Zurich, Switzerland and Casual Friday, MLAC Museo Laboratorio di Arte Contemporaneo, Universita di Roma La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. She received a visual art diploma from ESAV, Geneva, in 1996.