IED Students Present 'Transitions' Installation at Pitti Uomo 104 in Florence

At Pitti Uomo 104, eight international IED students unveiled the collective installation 'Transitions' in the Salone Brunelleschi of the Istituto degli Innocenti, mentored by artist Lucy Orta. Orta, Chair of Art and the Environment at University of the Arts London, had previously participated in Pitti Uomo in 2000 with a project on refuge clothing. The students—Gaia Invernizzi, Marcos Escobar Aguirre, Luca Mantovani, Carolina Puiggròs Figueras, Michele Serra, Riccardo Lerda, Federica Borzì, and Livio Pilla—explored themes of transformation, from Luca Mantovani's performance on fabric sounds to Michele Serra's AI-driven speculation on human evolution. Riccardo Lerda's 'Prodigy' imagines a grotesque 'gargoyle-man', while Livio Pilla's 'Survive' backpack addresses climate refugee scenarios. Federica Borzì uses recycled materials, Gaia Invernizzi explores defect and acceptance, and the Spanish students examine twin dynamics. IED Academic Director Riccardo Balbo described the project as expressing movement and change. Orta noted the challenge of guiding students toward conceptual thinking, hoping to open new directions for their careers.