Elisabetta Benassi's Synthetic Palm and Bronze Turtles at Magazzino, Rome

Elisabetta Benassi (Rome, 1966) presents a solo exhibition at Magazzino in Rome, fusing nature and artificiality. A synthetic palm, a Duchampian readymade stripped of original function, accompanies the artist's self-portrait as a tiller-wielding figure, an undeveloped film roll, and the fear of a dreamless night. The work 'Salamandra ZAF' assembles car emblems with animal names and symbols on a Fontana-like surface. Outside, a car trunk tows the bronze shells of two turtles, with the lost-wax casting channels left visible to emphasize mimetic fiction. The exhibition runs until an unspecified date in 2017.