Driton Selmani wraps Domenico Modugno statue in life jacket for migrant performance

Kosovo-born artist Driton Selmani (b. 1987, Prishtina) staged a daytime performance in Polignano a Mare, Italy, covering the statue of Domenico Modugno—the town's most famous native, alongside artist Pino Pascali—with a life jacket. Curated by Roberto Lacarbonara, the intervention aimed to reframe Modugno as a symbol of migration, referencing his rendition of 'Amara Terra Mia,' a song about emigrant melancholy. The statue, which gestures toward the Adriatic Sea where many migrants have traveled, was temporarily obscured, provoking mixed reactions from tourists who could not photograph it. The life jacket was subsequently seized by local carabinieri. Selmani is in Italy for a solo exhibition at Exchiesetta, a former deconsecrated church turned gallery. There, his work 'Country on my back' features handmade knives suspended from a thread beneath large black balloons, addressing unresolved tensions in civil, political, and religious coexistence, while alluding to the artist's home country's ongoing political and social dramas.