Oyster / Marco Marzocchi

Made over the course of 10 years, ‘Oyster’ is a visual diary compiled by Marzocchi as clues to understand his absent parents. At times bordering on frustration and violence, his images express his search for a ‘culprit’, a cause for his dysfunctional childhood environment. Using archival and original imagery, the artist ransacks the past to build a presence in a process of forgiving and letting go, as a quest to find love and healing.

Marzocchi had reevaluate his whole family history from the point of view of an adult. And close a circle. Like an Ouroboros.

The "Ouroboros" is an important symbol to Marco and his work. It relates to evolution. To being reborn. The influence of his parents on his life and how it reflects back to the way he views his parents. To Marzocchi, everything is connected.

The symbol guided many of the design concepts presented in ‘Oyster’. every book connects to each other. There are 480 different covers. Every snake is a cover of a book and the back cover of the next. Turning the 480 books into a singular piece.

‘Oyster’ is a 84 page Leporello book. This form allows the reader to have a free and non linear read of the publication. It allows a circular reading. Again, an Ouroboros.