Apparentemente privo di narrazioni forti
2012
Sculpture. Soil. 100x100x100 cm
N. 25 drawings. Pencil on paper. 29,7×21 cm. Installation of 36 A4 sheets.
Shelf with various documents 80×32 cm.
Luogo comune is a work about the earth, landscape, and the history of a place, which is realized in contact with the land and the community of the village of Guilmi in Abruzzo. It is a work that approaches the territory starting from the oral tradition, at the boundary between imaginary and reality.
A popular legend tells about an ancient village near the river, named Tripaldi, which was destroyed by winged ants or grasshoppers and rebuilt in Guilmi. It is mentioned also in the most popular traditional song of the village “Dolce Guilmi”. Following the directions of some inhabitants, we explored the territory
around Guilmi in search of the ruins of Tripaldi, and we finally found two places with ruined walls, a tour, ceramic artifacts, and human remains. The earth conceals and preserves the remnants of this story.
We consult an archaeologist, and the discovery was reported to the Superintendency of Archaeological Heritage of the Abruzzo region. The site will be added to the map of historical and archaeological places of interest in the region.
1m3 of soil was placed at the edge of the village, on a spot from where it is possible to see the site of the ruins, and it was left to unravel over time, in dialogue with the landscape. A cubic meter of earth, of history, of memory, of time, to bring attention to a common ground, a commonplace. It is a unit that
contains the possible narratives of an uncertain past to fill, or confirm, a gap in the historical memory of a place. It was a way to give value to a territory, to the imagination of the place, and to the oral tradition, which is now increased by this work. The work triggered a process of awareness and of interest in the inhabitants, that produced the resurfacing of memories and other stories related to Tripaldi, which were collected and used to produce an edition of a fold-out poster.
The work is completed with 25 drawings of the findings that were then buried in the cube.
The work triggered a process of awareness and interest, producing the resurfacing of memories and new narratives, some of which were collected and printed for the edition of a fold-out poster(pdf)
(ph. credits Guilmi Art Project, Emanuela Ascari)