Raffaele Quattrone

Emanuela Ascari - Ciò che è vivo. Culture tour

 

 

"And so Emanuela Ascari created her wooden phrase “that which is alive needs that which is alive” and set off on a journey across Italy with the aim, as she herself describes, of encountering organic and biodynamic farmers and ecovillages, of installing the phrase on their land for the duration of her stay, a day and night or at most two days, before heading out once again for the next destination. Thirty stopovers, thirty meetings and opportunities for reflection. Leading her eventually to the MACRO in Rome, where she created chromatographies of the soil samples she had collected during her trip. Chromatographies are images on paper that express the mineral and biological qualities of that specific piece of land at that specific moment in time. This technique is used in biodynamic farming to evaluate the quality of the land on the basis of the aesthetic qualities of the images being observed and analyzed, specifically the harmony of the forms and the range of colors. The journey, narrated in blog form on undo.net and terranuova.it, took the form of a book showcasing photos of the installations created at each of the thirty stopovers, texts written by some of the farmers who hosted the artist and a conversation/interview with Gianfranco Baruchello and Carla Subrizi. The book was printed entirely on paper made of hemp, a plant that can be used to produce environmentallyfriendly paper, textiles, fuels, plastics, oils and other building materials such as bricks, not to mention food and therapeutic products. Emanuela Ascari’s expedition represents a tool for social transformation: by completing the journey, the traveler proceeds along a pathway of understanding and research that goes beyond stereotypes and myths. The voyage is repeated departure, the qualitative regeneration of life; it is catharsis. John Steinbeck said that “people don’t take trips – trips take people.” I believe this is true for Emanuela Ascari as it is for all of us who have not taken this journey through biodynamic agriculture. When we return home secure in our beliefs and satisfied with our habits, an art exhibition remains no more than an art exhibition. If, however, it plants in us some doubt, some seed that invites us to rethink what we are and what we do, it is no longer just an art exhibition. Emanuela Ascari’s project surely has this potential. Now it is up to us to turn this potential into opportunity." from the text written by Raffaele Quattrone on the occasion of the exhibition catalogue.

 

Emanuela Ascari - Ciò che è vivo Cultural tour

April, 1 -25  2016

Vignola (MO), DISLOCATA spazio espositivo

exhibition curated by Raffaele Quattrone and WunderKammer Associazione Culturale