…I decided to create, so, a new ritual: a ritual for castaways. A ritual with no dogma, a scientific operation without rationalistic truths–I want to create a game (as Munari said, games are very serious stuff).

Apparently abracadabra can mean “I create as I speak”.

(May 2011)

Gabbia, meaning “cage”, was a performative art residency which lasted six days, plus two week-ends afterwards to finish the paintings on wood panel. It took place at the experimental art space Una Specie di Spazio (in Cremona, Italy), titled after George Perec’s book Species of Spaces and Other Pieces. The artists behind this name, David Chance Fragale and Federico Fronterrè, with the artist Alessia Degani, have been the curators of this project; their energies and the collaboration of many others have been essential.

For six days I lived behind a wide glass window, visible from the street. During the day I was painting on two wood panels big as the walls and during the night I was sleeping on a bed in the middle of this room, and always I was surrounded by the flying fish, entering a performance called Eta dorme sui pesci volanti (“Eta sleeps on the flying fish”), as my blog is titled.

Every day the door opened at 6PM and the people could come in, have a closer look, talk some with me and browse my sketchbooks, all gathered in a bag.

On Thursday, the artist, photographer, Caterana Tonnē Fleur, alias Rib., joined my residency, sharing my little bed, helping me with the panels and taking photographs.

On Saturday the 14th of May, during the Opening, a bigger collective and interactive performance happened: La mensa sull’abisso, “The Meal On The Abyss”.

The core of my intentions was finding a way to bear the inevitability of the pain.

These are the panels that I’ve painted, with Rib.‘s big help. Their photographs are by Andrea Riboni, who had decided to also create two videos to travel inside my panels and my ritual bedroom…

Right panel – Ph by Andrea Riboni

Left panel – Ph by Andrea Riboni

Working on the left panel – Ph by Rib.

Working on the left panel, with Michelle in the room – Photo by Rib.

This video by Eugenio Villani shows the opening day, with some extracts from the performance Mensa sull’abisso.

The two girls who paint me are randomly picking numbers from their bags and asking to the related people to decide whether to physically damage me or to add a weight to my burden.

A PERFORMANCE WITH

Alessia Degani
Ialira Donar
Valeria Muledda
Michelle Soleda Gorr
Rib.
Maria Caletti
Erica Lanzoni
Eleonora Eta Liparoti
Federico Mecatti
Andrea Carasi
… and everyone who was called.

La mensa sull’abisso – Ph by Caterana Tonnē Fleur

 OTHER PICTURES FROM THE ART RESIDENCY AND SOME DAYS AFTERWARDS

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