Elena Bellantoni's 'Imperfetto Mare' Explores the Sea as Social and Political Space in Bologna

The exhibition 'Imperfetto Mare' at CUBO, the museum of Gruppo Unipol in Bologna, surveys Elena Bellantoni's seven-year artistic investigation of the sea as an intimate, social, and political element. Curated by Leonardo Regano, the show spans from Patagonia to Puglia, featuring video, photography, performance, sculpture, and public interventions created between 2013 and 2020. The journey begins with 'Hala Yella adiòs/addio' (2013, Cape Horn), a tribute to Cristina Calderón Harban, the last native speaker of the Yaghan language from Tierra del Fuego. In 'Maremoto' (2016), the sea becomes a space where the artist merges with the migrant Other. 'Ho annegato il mare' (2018) features narration by Fiammetta Borsellino and critiques ecological degradation, linking to the later work 'CeMento'. The final chapter of Bellantoni's 'sea tetralogy' is 'Corpomorto' (2020), produced in Puglia with support from Teatro Pubblico Pugliese, where large letters emerge from the water to form a poem. The performance 'Il mare si è scocciato' (2021–2022), staged in June 2022, concludes the research. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with Arteam Cup, an award founded by cultural association Arteam (active since 2001), of which Bellantoni was the 2020 absolute winner. The show runs until September 23, 2022, across the spaces of Porta Europa and Torre Unipol.