Nora Turato’s Solo Show “it’s not true!!! stop lying!” – A Critique of the Self-Optimization and Healing Industries
Nora Turato is contemplating the authenticity of positive affirmations, productivity, and self-development. She expresses her skepticism towards life coaches and wellness gurus, labeling it as the “biggest pyramid scheme out there.” For the past two years, the 33-year-old Croatian artist has been delving deep into what she calls “the healing, self-development, and self-optimization space.”
The result of her exploration is a solo show titled “it’s not true!!! stop lying!” currently on display at Sprüth Magers’ Los Angeles gallery. The exhibition serves as a response to the pervasive wellness industry and its influence on our collective unconscious.
Turato’s artistic focus lies in language and how it shapes our perception of reality. She explores the way we absorb information from various sources, including overused clichés, personal messages, advertisements, news headlines, and even our own thoughts. Her work takes the form of books, text-based panels, and performances presented in reputable institutions such as Vienna’s Secession Building and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
At the Museum of Modern Art, Turato presented her one-woman “pool 5” monologue live more than 20 times over a two-week period in 2022. The performance was both captivating and comically on point as Turato seamlessly morphed from one persona to another, from a marketing mastermind to a fraudulent fortune teller. The performance was accompanied by a limited-edition book, which is the fifth compilation of linguistic snippets. Turato’s background as a graphic designer influences her typographical presentation.
Her work echoes American artist Barbara Kruger’s seminal 1980s pieces, which question and challenge the systems that contain us. Turato’s take on these themes comes from a millennial perspective and her unique post-communist upbringing in Zagreb, which she describes as “very in-between – not really eastern Europe; not really west.” Her performative nature as a child has also influenced her artistic journey.
According to Philomene Magers, co-founder of Sprüth Magers, Turato’s work “puts people in front of a mirror.” She believes that the exhibition will resonate with Angelenos, who are known for their obsession with self-optimization and personal growth.
The show examines Turato’s skeptical yet susceptible response to the notion that we can become healthier, happier, and truer versions of ourselves. Wall-mounted enamel panels read “Sleep / it’s good for you!” and “I know we are all into woo here, but homeopathy is fake, right? Right!”. Three black-and-white wall paintings shout out “authenticity”, “haha”, and “speaking my truth!!!”.
Turato muses, “I myself don’t know what I deeply believe about authenticity, if there even is such a thing, but I do know I’m being told to be authentic a lot. It’s everywhere. You know: ‘buy this, be authentic.’ The whole preoccupation with identity is very confusing to me.”
For the past four years, Turato has been working with Hollywood dialect coach Julie Adams. The collaboration led her to introspection and a period of self-reflection. “Working with your voice, things start bubbling up,” she explains. “You start reflecting on yourself. At first I thought ‘This is good for my work’, and I started all these different therapies.”
Turato’s self-optimization journey has taken an unexpected turn as she embraces a digital detox. She has acquired a dumb phone and plans to go on a 10-day hike in the Mojave Desert with her husband and a tent. Her future work remains uncertain, but she is intrigued by this new phase of her life.
“it’s not true!!! stop lying!” is on display at Sprüth Magers Los Angeles until April 27, 2024.
