Exhibited at La Biennale dello Stretto
The Biennale of the Strait (Italian: La Biennale dello Stretto) in December 2022 was the first time artists, architects and photographers gathered and exhibited at the Siacci Batteria Fort. The location was carefully chosen: the fort is the largest in the Messina Strait and has played an important role in the lives of the locals ever since the war, as well as during the 20th century. With the help of the community, the building and the surrounding area were preserved and restored so that the fort could be reopened as a tourist attraction and a cultural space. The reinvented fort offers an intimate setting in which the relationship between artist, artwork and public unfolds in a unique atmosphere.
The Biennale revolved around the question of Mediterranean identity, culture and geography, exploring how the region and its heritage are connected by water. The sea and its coastline, the ridgelines between the rivers and the streams that develop into permanent water flows, the river beds and the plains alongside unite the peoples of the Mediterranean. Water crosses architecture, landscape, history and art, and this exhibition successfully brought it all together. It was curated by architect Alfonso Femia (500x100) and professor Francesca Moraci within the cultural-editorial project Invisible Mediterranean(s) (Italian: Mediterranei Invisibili).
Alfonso Femia was already familiar with our work, as Grasshopper Geography maps have been the part of his TEMPODACQUA project at the Biennale di Pisa in 2019. He contacted us again with a proposal that we gladly and humbly accepted. Robert created river basin maps of the Mediterranean in different formats and styles and, with the help of their amazing team, our project proposal was ready way before the deadline. One of our submitted maps got exhibited as a major attraction in a room together with Egidio Cutillo and Stefania Schirò's Relitto. and Femia's own work.
Our maps fit perfectly within the Biennale's narrative, as they depict all the permanent and temporary streams and rivers that flow through our lands. Starting from the coast, if you follow the rivers and streams up to their sources while walking through these watersheds, you will find people, histories, cuisines and families that are connected to the Mediterranean and to each other through water. These maps represent our interconnectedness, despite our differences. They also show how the Strait of Messina has the potential to be a focal point in building a new, collaborative future for the Mediterranean.
We are honoured to have been involved in this remarkable exhibition and we look forward to contributing to Alfonso Femia's next project.
Some parts of the article were based on this text.
Images from the exhibition are from Alfonso Femia, photographer: Stefano Anzini. Used with permission.
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