Gian Maria Tosatti's European Pilgrimage Examines Civilizational Decline
Gian Maria Tosatti, an Italian artist born in Rome in 1980 and currently residing in New York, has unveiled 'Il mio cuore è vuoto come uno specchio' (My Heart Is Empty Like a Mirror), a project reflecting the present condition of Europe. The inaugural episode premiered at Manifesta 12 in Catania, Sicily, in 2018, with the subsequent chapter set to launch in Riga, Latvia, on September 6. Drawing inspiration from Louis-Ferdinand Céline's last trilogy, each segment is named in the respective local language. Tosatti perceives Europe as a confederation engulfed in turmoil from wars, ethnic strife, and the rise of fascism. The Catania installation at Palazzo Biscari represented Italy as a 'carcass of a great white whale,' aiming for a collective exorcism of Europe's reality.
Key facts
- Gian Maria Tosatti launched 'Il mio cuore è vuoto come uno specchio' at Manifesta 12 in Catania.
- The project is a multi-chapter European pilgrimage inspired by Louis-Ferdinand Céline's final trilogy.
- Catania has been destroyed and rebuilt nine times since 479 BCE.
- The installation at Palazzo Biscari required visitors to enter alone.
- Next chapter will be in Riga, Latvia, on September 6.
- Tosatti cites Pasolini's 1964 'Prophecy' about colonial return.
- Palazzo Biscari is described as a 'carcass of a great white whale'.
- The project aims to create a collective exorcism through art.
Entities
Artists
- Gian Maria Tosatti
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline
- Ingmar Bergman
- Adele Ghirri
- Ludovico Pratesi
- Pietro Scammacca
Institutions
- Manifesta 12
- Artribune
- Palazzo Biscari
- Centro Arti Visive Pescheria di Pesaro
- Fondazione Guastalla per l'arte contemporanea
- Università IULM di Milano
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- New York
- United States
- Catania
- Sicily
- Riga
- Latvia
- Cyprus
- Ukraine
- Georgia
- Turkey
- Israel
- Palestine
- Calais
- France