Anri Sala's 'Body Double' at Pompeii: Breathing Life into Ancient Casts

Albanian artist Anri Sala (Tirana, 1974) has created a new project for the Pompeii Commitment digital fellowship, titled 'Body Double'. The work centers on plaster casts of two victims of the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD, discovered in 2020 at Civita Giuliana, believed to be a young slave and his master. Sala also incorporates an aulos, an ancient double-reed wind instrument found in the area, to create a musical composition. The duration of the piece is mathematically derived from the volume of air that would have remained in the victims' lungs, as represented by the plaster casts. The music was performed by Stefan Hegel, a rare specialist in ancient instruments. The project includes two drawings and a limited-edition vinyl LP, curated by Marcella Beccaria and Andrea Viliani, presented at the Museo Madre in Naples. Sala's solo exhibition at Galleria Alfonso Artiaco in Naples features new fresco works, continuing his exploration of time, image, architecture, and sound. The Pompeii Commitment is supervised by director Gabriel Zuchtriegel, with project manager Silvia Bertesago, and conceived by Massimo Osanna and Andrea Viliani, curated with Stella Bottai, Laura Mariano, and Caterina Avataneo. Sala's frescoes are also on view at Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris.