1 November 2025 – 14 December 2025

“Up and Down is about how neoliberal life haunts the body, where stress, burnout, and repetition turn ordinary spaces into uncanny stages, while also asking how we might imagine a way out.” – Miguel Martin

Up and Down transforms VOLT into two parallel worlds: an upstairs office and a downstairs gym, two spaces caught in cycles of work and exertion. Screens flicker, weights press down, gestures repeat, and the promise of recovery hovers just out of reach. Upstairs, surrounded by well-wishing greeting cards and potted plants, a computer screen flickers with restless searches for silver prices, caravan getaways and self-help manuals; downstairs, a weight-lifting bench sits immobilised beneath a gargoyle, a water cooler fizzes with neon energy drinks, a punching dummy waits in the corner plastered over like a body that refuses to mend, 10 ounces of silver sits in a gym locker, and a treadmill stands in front of a video tutorial on how to build a house for free. 

Miguel Martin’s installation stages the absurdities of work, exhaustion and resilience culture, while searching for cracks in the cycle; moments where sincerity, play or gifts might slip through. What waits in those gaps is uncertain, but hints at exits not yet mapped.

A text written specifically for the show by Rome-based art historian, curator and author Valentina Tanni can be downloaded HERE