pins and entomological cases, 8 photogrtaphs taken in 2001 by the artist and his mother during a trip in the US (Washington D.C., Vermont, New York) in 2001, three elements 52x39x5cm each
The work consists of three entomological cases containing eight family photographs taken in 2001 by my mother and me during a trip to the United States. Some of these images document our visit to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where the Hall of Biodiversity, a permanent installation that includes hundreds of animal specimens, is located. The Kingdom is intended to stand as a reflection on the relationship between the desire for knowledge, for contact with something distant and sometimes inaccessible, and the resulting pattern of relationship with the natural world. The title thus alludes to a fantastic realm, of childlike imagination, unencumbered by concerns, as well as to the idea of domination. Domination is understood in a historical sense - I am thinking of the intertwining of imperialist project and scientific progress, of exploration and conquest - and a philosophical one - the cogito that makes everything an object, in an ambiguous congruence between curiosity, dissection, love and control. The photos taken in the museums are interpolated with two other more intimate shots. In the bottom right photo of the third frame, ideally the last in terms of fruition, I am in bed with my eyes closed, as if in the iridescent semi-darkness of the eyelid a parade of all that I had seen and photographed in those days was unfolding, like a joyous and messy reverie. The original roll of film was lost, so I used the only existing prints, made in 2002, as if they were specimens themselves, fixing them with entomological pins.
Subjects, places and authors:
1. Me in front of a redwood section, Hall of North American Forests, American Natural History Museum, New York, Luisa Prayer
2. Me in front of the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, ANHM, New York, Luisa Prayer
3. Spectrum of life, Hall of Biodiversity, ANHM, New York, Paolo Bufalini
4. Butterfly Conservatory, ANHM, New York, Paolo Bufalini
5. Butterfly Conservatory, ANHM, New York, Paolo Bufalini
6. My mother and I in a hotel room, Washington, D.C., Luisa Prayer (self-timer)
7. Me in front of the Spectrum of life, Hall of Biodiversity, ANHM, New York, Luisa Prayer
8. Me in bed, in the house where my mother and I were guests, Vermont, Luisa Prayer
Exhibitions:
2023 Premio E.ART.H, Eataly Art House, verona, curated by Treti Galaxie
Press:
KubaParis
Formeuniche
Ph: Manuel Montesano (1-5), Flavio Pescatori (6)
