GLOGAUAIR OPEN STUDIO SHOW, BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 2023

For the summer Open Studios at GlogauAIR residency, the studio was transformed into an exhibition space for a two-day event. The goal was to present works created during the first three months of Zak's residency, where she explored the theme of burnout—a complex and especially for women often tabooed issue, resulting from societal pressures and inherited beliefs. Zak's paintings and objects depicted various phases of burnout, such as chaos, overwhelm, hope, and darkness, visually representing the state of burnout. Drawing from women's folk medicine, which considers fire and ash as remedies for deep wounds, Zak incorporated these elements into her process. The aim was to portray burnout's fragility while still emphasising the potential for healing and renewal.