uring this period, with the winds of war blowing over the D Mediterranean (and beyond), fraught with ethnic hate, discord and racism, we need to recover what we have in common, what brings us together. To this purpose, Studio Azzurro organized a stimulating exhibition: “Mediterraneo”, produced by Hermès and open at Castel S. Elmo in Naples until last November. The show is a challenge to the general outlook, as it proposes “a sense of belonging that overcomes personal data”, says Paolo Rosa, “it is founded on the perception of a territory, on the ability to recognize certain tastes, perfumes and smells as though they were a part of us...a special light, appearing and fading.” For years, Studio Azzurro has been keeping up a challenge: elevating the potential of new technologies to a poetic level. This has marked the dawning of an interactive tale that envelopes spectators and takes them through Mediterranean areas; here they discover the beauty not only of the landscape (which has been celebrated for ages), but also of Mediterranean craftsmanship, with its repeated rituals and the ancient taste of tools and objects that survive the fierce laws of the market. Through the suggestive spaces and long hallways, alive with the sounds which are peculiar to the world of artisans, we find five installations corresponding to five ■A
destra, due immagini dell’installazione dedicata alla Grecia e, in basso, quella della Francia. ■ Right, two pictures of the installation devoted to Greece and, bottom, the one devoted to France.
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“Mediterranean” countries (Italy, France, Greece, Morocco and Libya). These works light up the screens, which are continuously transformed by our presence, our interaction, following the landscapes or only appearing with small tokens. With the dreamy charm of their images, the installations (Fabio Cirifino’s photography is remarkable) establish an essential, respectful dialog with the environment, in a setting that does not easily accept any outside input. After the first contemplative impact, we feel urged to take part in the whole, so as to access new images where the natural and the virtual come together. The Vesuvius rises in front of us with all its might, the ascent of smoke and vapor on vertical screens ... this upward motion seems to exalt the erect posture of man... it is projected until it touches prejudice and beliefs, superstitions and holiness.” The pressure of our steps make the image flicker, thanks to a vibrating sensor that perceives the tremor our feet produce; the sound makes the feather-light mirror vibrate. This mirror is where the images are projected, and gives us the illusion that we can actually change the image, if we move with a heavier step. The apparent calm of French Provence is disturbed only by the frenetic buzzing of insects; with a simple movement of our
hands we can have them materialize in the landscape, moving them from the black gauze on which they are projected to the screen in front of us; by doing this, we create digital alterations that follow their flight, “untiring cursores flying on different paths... pollinators that turn life on.” Particle rendering and compositing techniques have allowed for suggestive alterations of the images, which are suspended between painting and virtual reality. In front of the immobile, eternal beauty of the Greek sea, and in its loneliness and brightness, a small screen shows the arrival of an invading, saturated tourism; all we have to do is call it up, and human presence, with all of its exaggeration and vulgarity, invades the landscape in the background. “Tell me your foot’s name before stepping on me,” says the carpet, in the ancient Egyptians’ chamber of the dead “for... I am silent and sacred” We can enter and be transported by the silent secrecy of this sacredness, we can fly through its colors, the alleys and faces that give life to the Medina of Fes. “For this installation, we have used one of our recent inventions,” says Stefano Roveda, who is responsible for the interactive project. “This has allowed us to work on two different optical fields: infrared and normal projection, so that the former could read the spectators’ presence but be blind to
the actual projection. Especially designed software memorizes the trail left by people and uses it to dissolve the images. As the carpet is slowly deleted (and the video is ready to start), the audio descends from above and enters the images, circulating faster and faster around the speakers, creating a union between sight and sound.” “...If you follow the direction of the print, luxuriant in its chiaroscuros, you’ll find it, ever delightful, right near you, but it will be unrecognizable.” And it is our print that articulates the close-up, one (digital) zoom after the other, that gets closer and closer to Nalut, the silent, solemn sand cathedral. Finally, a series of black and white repertory images that is as long as a staircase... that leads nowhere. This shows us the sanguinary contadictions of our time, awakening our conscience, which can’t forget the painful experiences the Mediterranean itself has had to go through and is still witnessing.
■ L’area
del Marocco con il “tappeto” interattivo. ■ The Marocco area with its interactive “carpet”.
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