FòcarArte 2017: Daniel Buren, Sislej Xhafa, H.H. Lin Transform Novoli's Bonfire Ritual

For the 2017 edition of FòcarArte in Novoli, curator Giacomo Zaza invited artists Daniel Buren, Sislej Xhafa, and H.H. Lim to reinterpret the traditional Fòcara bonfire festival, which combines an ancient agricultural ritual with the propitiatory cult of Saint Anthony Abbot. Each artist created both a performative work for the fire and an exhibition piece at Palazzo Baronale. Buren transformed the 16th-century palace with his signature 8.7 cm wide striped "brand," using green walls and black-and-white bands on the vault's sails to create a perceptual dilation of space. Xhafa's "Segment on the air" engaged the community with a playful exchange of pink balloons, contrasting with the security staff's solemn demeanor, while his videos "Stock Exchange" (2000) and "Beh-rang" (2004) critiqued global market life and violence. H.H. Lim staged "La Via del Falò divino," a symposium where bonfire builders shared a ritual meal on a table of brushwood, later burned with leftovers and improvised furniture; the charred chairs reappeared in the exhibition alongside references to extreme liturgies like flesh piercing. The Fòcara Prize 2017 was awarded to Francesco Jodice for his photographic work on transforming geopolitical stages.