ARCHIVE EVENT 40.
25.08.2023
LOCATION: MOLT, Tempelhofer Ufer 1A, BERLIN
FORMAT: Exhibition, performance, live-set
CURATOR: Elena Francalanci & Virginia Valeri
ARTISTS:
Elena Francalanci
Virginia Valeri
Giulia Gr
Bebe Le
Matilde Bassetti
Marta Anti
YKZHHQ
Gaia Pellegrini
Alice Minervini
ECLYPSE OF THE HEART IS AN EVENT RESULTING FROM ELENA FRANCALANCI AND VIRGINIA VALERI'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE PERFORMER GAIA PELLEGRINI AND THEIR INTEREST IN HER DURATIONAL PERFORMANCE MIO $MILE, PRESENTED AT THE FOLKWANG UNIVERSITAT DER KUNSTE IN ESSEN AND CENTERED ON THE IMAGE OF THE VELINA AND THE OBJECTIFICATION OF THE FEMALE BODY IN THE BERLUSCONI ERA. TOGETHER WITH MARTA ANTI, VALERI AND FRANCALANCI PRESENTED A READING EXTRACTED FROM ALICE MINERVINI'S PUBLICATION COMIZI D'AMORE, MORE SPECIFICALLY THE LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE DEAR BUT NOT TOO DEAR SILVIO BERLUSCONI. A FEW MONTHS AFTER BERLUSCONI'S DEATH, IN FACT, THIS ERA OF DECADENCE AND DISGUST AT THE COMMODIFICATION OF THE FEMALE BODY WAS COMMEMORATED BY INVITING THREE VIDEO PROJECTS TO BE EXHIBITED TOGETHER WITH FRANCALANCI AND VALERI'S SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS:
VIRTUALLY YOURS
ONLINE SCREEN RECORDED VIDEO CALL, EDITED VIDEO | 2020 | BY GIULIA GR AND BEBE LE MUSIC BY LMNSCT.
TWO INDIVIDUALS STUCK INDOORS START A CONVERSATION VIA VIDEO CALL FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE FLATS, USING ONLY THEIR BODY AS LANGUAGE. THIS BECOMES AN OPPORTUNITY TO BREATHE DEEPER AND EXPLORE VISUALLY. SLOWLY TRANSFORMING THE INTERNET FROM MERE TOOL OF TRANSMISSION INTO AN UPPER ETHEREAL SPACE ABLE TO LINK TWO PHYSICAL BODIES. IN THIS HISTORICAL MOMENT, AIR IS SOMETHING WE’RE VERY AWARE OF AND AFRAID TO SHARE. WITH THIS PERFORMANCE, WE FOUND A WAY TO SAFELY SHARE A NON-PHYSICAL SPACE, YET FEELING TOGETHER IN A MOMENT OF LONELINESS. AETHER AS CLEAN AIR TO BREATHE IN, SPACE BETWEEN OUR BODIES. BORN DURING LOCKDOWN TIMES, VIRTUALLY YOURS HAS BEEN A YEAR-LONG COLLABORATION EVOLVING AROUND THE NEED OF HUMAN CONNECTION.
THE CREATION OF THE DOLL
ONE-CHANNEL VIDEO INSTALLATION | 2023 | BY YKZHHQ
DESIRE, MADNESS, CONTROL OF THE FLESH, AND THE HOLY DIRT. HOW REAL IS A DOLL AND HOW MANY PIECES DO YOU NEED TO BUILD ONE? A PUZZLE OF DIFFERENT VIDEO REALITIES ASSEMBLED TO CREATE A NEW VERSION OF IT. HOW MUCH OF IT CAN YOU TAKE?
N-2K
ONE CHANNEL VIDEO INSTALLATION | 2023 | BY MATILDE BASSETTI
N-2K IS A PROJECT BY THE DANCER MATILDE BASSETTI AND THE MEDIA ARTIST SHALY LOPEZ. N-2K INVESTIGATES THE PERFORMATIVITY OF OUR DIGITAL LIVES AND THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE CREATE BETWEEN OUR REAL AND DIGITAL BODIES, SHOWING THE PLURALITY OF REALITIES IN WHICH WE ARE LIVING.
MY DANCE PARTNER IS MY SELFIE STICK, THERE IS A KIND OF OBSESSION, A WEIRD PERVERSION THAT EMERGES FROM THE ACT OF CONSTANTLY WATCHING MYSELF ON THE SCREEN. I AM THE 2K NARCISO, WHO GOT STUCK IN HER VIRTUAL REFLECTION. I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION. I WANT TO DROWN IN MY FETICHISM AND TRANSFORM IT INTO MY PRACTICE, TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT DEVICES THAT ALLOW ME TO NAVIGATE THROUGH DIFFERENT REALITIES. USING FACE RECOGNITION FILTERS, VOCODERS, AND CAPTURE DEVICES, I WANT TO OFFER THE OPTION OF CHOOSING. WOULD YOU PREFER TO FOLLOW ME THROUGH INSTAGRAM DIRECT OR TO SEE WHAT IS THE BACKSPACE OF MY BODY OUTSIDE THE SCREEN? IN THE ERA OF CONSTANT AND RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS, DOES IT STILL MAKE SENSE TO SPEAK OF REALITY AND FICTION AS DISTINCT CONCEPTS?
EXPERIENCING THE WORLD THROUGH VIRTUAL INTERFACES GENERATES A SENSE OF TOTAL FICTION, OF HYPER REALITY, WE ARE HUNGRY SPECTATORS OF IMAGES, ALL HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, CREATING A FEELING OF STRANGENESS AND PERMANENT ILLUSION. IN THIS TOTAL FICTION THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL WORLD AND THE VIRTUAL WORLD ARE BLURRING, SO ARE THOSE BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC, AND WE FOUND OURSELVES ENTERING A WORLD OF CONSTANT PERFORMANCE.
WHAT WE WANT TO EXPLORE IS THE BRUTALITY OF THE REAL, THE VICIOUSNESS OF THE FAKE, THE SADNESS OF OUR PRIVACY, THE CUTENESS OF OUR FILTERS. WE WANT TO DEEP INTO THE WEIRD PERVERSION THAT EMERGES FROM THE CONSTANT ACT OF WATCHING OURSELVES ON THE SCREEN. WE ARE THE 2K NARCISSUS, WHO GOT STUCK IN OUR VIRTUAL REFLECTION AND FELL IN LOVE WITH OUR DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION.
THE SUSTAIN THEME PROPOSED BY THE CTM FESTIVAL FOR 2024, LED THE MOLT TEAM TO REFLECT ON THE THEME OF THE DOUBLE, THE CLONE, AND THE COUPLE. THUS, A PROGRAMME OF THREE PERFORMANCE DUETS ACCOMPANIED BY THILLAYE’S VIDEO INSTALLATION INSPIRED BY THE THEME OF REPRODUCIBILITY AND THE INVITATION, THEREFORE TO BE REPRODUCED, IS PRESENTED.
Photos by Gil Corujeira