Manhattan gallery Location One currently features a solo exhibition by Marta Jovanovic ‘It Is My Body’, curated by Claudia Caliman.

What happens to the body of the artist in the aftermath of the performance? This query is at the core of the sculptures, videos, and photographs by Belgrade-born artist Marta Jovanovic. Much has been said about the difficulty of preserving performance, an ephemeral medium that resists being transformed into a lasting and permanent form. But what about the performer’s body: Can it be suspended in time forever? Can we prevent its aging and ultimately decaying or delay its inevitable mortality?

To answer this question, Jovanovic creates a silicone body double, an exact replica of the artist. The soulless object is meant to appear beautiful on first glance. Upon further study, it becomes “repellent” and more like a funery corpse. There is evidence of surgical intervention and cosmetic surgery, layers of silicone and plaster casts rendering it increasingly grotesque. Read on at Location One

Marta Jovanovic’s ‘It Is My Body’ is at Location One in New York City until January 31, 2013.

In Paris, the artist is exhibiting ’Sélysette’at the Centre Culturel de Serbie from January 5, 2013 until February 10, 2013.