Stai în banca ta / Behave
‘Stai în banca ta’ (Romanian) = ‘Stay at your desk’ (English): to behave or know your place.
Furniture surrounds us in our homes, like silent observers of our lives. These objects carry memories, like cemeteries or homes for people’s stories, yet they are often taken for granted. Stanciu draws a parallel between these objects and the experience of women in the home, who are expected to be dependable and unbreakable. 'Stai în banca ta' is a common expression in Romanian which translates as 'stay at your desk', meaning to behave or know your place. In these pictures, items of furniture come to life as entities capable of breathing and playing, resisting their functions and defying our expectations. They take on different identities that merge with human forms and break free from their responsibilities to serve the home
The RSA Morton Award funds allowed Stanciu to cover materials and production costs for this exhibition, as well as commissioning soprano and composer Stephanie Lamprea to create a sound piece for her moving image work.
Oana Stanciu is a visual artist from Romania, living and working in Edinburgh. Her work combines performance, photography, sculpture and moving image to create subtly distorted self-portraits. She merges her body with different objects and environments, improvising scenes and transforming herself into surreal characters and creatures. Her work features black and white photographs, often accompanied by moving image pieces that help bring these characters to life.
Stanciu has received several awards including a VACMA Award 2023, Stills Award 2022, RSA Morton Award 2021, Ingleby Award, RSA Latimer Award, and RSA Meyer Oppenheim Award. Her work has been exhibited in various cities in the UK and internationally in Romania, Norway and Japan. In 2022 she was awarded a Knighthood by the Romanian president for her contribution to Romanian culture in the UK.
