Giuseppe Di Liberto's 'Le acque che vidi non saranno più le stesse' at Casa Viola, Taranto

Giuseppe Di Liberto (Palermo, 1996) presents the exhibition 'Le acque che vidi non saranno più le stesse' at Casa Viola – Museo degli Illustri Tarantini (MUDIT) in Taranto, concluding a residency supported by Puglia Culture and the Regional Youth Policies Section of Puglia Region and ARTI. The project, part of the 'Residenze artistiche di arte contemporanea 2025 in Puglia' program, explores the relationship between Taranto and the sea as an archive of collective memory. Di Liberto conducted workshops 'Archivi Viventi' and 'Visualizzare la memoria' at Lido Taranto, engaging the community through family film archives. The residency was curated by Giovanni Talamo, president of Archivio RitrovaTa, with local coordination by Peppe Frisino of Nodo Galattica Taranto. The centerpiece is a site-specific performance on a repurposed floating platform in Mar Piccolo, featuring two screens showing footage from family archives and residency recordings, with sound design by Cristiano Viola and voice by Anna Rita Leone. The exhibition also includes an atlas inspired by Aby Warburg's Bilderatlas, juxtaposing 1970s postcards, archaeological photos, workshop outputs, and contemporary landscapes. Di Liberto's methodology draws on Walter Benjamin's constellation concept and Didi-Huberman's theories, treating the sea as a mutable signifier. The initiative aims to establish a contemporary art collection at Casa Viola, fostering dialogue between art and the local community.