Jacopo Benassi's Apocalyptic Techno Performances at Francesca Minini

Jacopo Benassi (La Spezia, 1970) presents 'Sàlvati Salvàti' at Galleria Francesca Minini in Milan, a solo exhibition blending photography, painting, sculpture, and performance. The show includes four performances: 'Performance con Khan of Finland', 'Brutal Casual' with Lady Maru, 'SASSI' with Luciano Chessa and Marco Mazzoni, and a concert with Lamante. Benassi, who emerged from underground cultural scenes and founded alternative spaces, uses photography as his primary medium but increasingly integrates it with other forms. The exhibition's title emphasizes resilience and salvation, critiquing contemporary social, political, and cultural issues. The main gallery features a barricade made of large photographic prints on Innocenti tubes, surrounded by plaster casts, helmets, trombones, drums, carpets, and plastic bags. Hybrid works combine photographs in rough plywood frames, assembled into boxes, obscured by straps and overlays. A banner depicts a lobster claw hanging from a thorny branch, while images of a butterfly and vulnerable body parts appear. The installation acts as both a dump and treasure room, an ark for an impending flood and a bunker for salvaged items. The exhibition runs through 2024 at the Milan gallery.