MASBEDO's 'Resto': A Poetic Act of Memory in the Sicilian Sea

In the latest installment of ArtsLife's 'Un’opera a settimana' series, the artistic duo MASBEDO, composed of Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni, discusses their 2021 work 'Resto'. Created during the pandemic, the project was supported by Fondazione ICA Milano as part of an initiative promoted by the Farnesina. The work transforms the sea into a space of reflection, avoiding direct representation of migration tragedies in the Channel of Sicily, instead offering a poetic gesture of symbolic rescue and memory. The artists filmed an organist performing a late 18th-century sonata by Gianandrea Fioroni in Milan's Chiesa Rossa and Chiesa della Passione. This recording was then played on a boat named 'Resto' in the Sicilian Sea, with a screen facing forward displaying the organist and instrument details. The boat sailed slowly, the music carried by wind and sea, creating a secular prayer for lives lost in the Mediterranean. The title 'Resto' (meaning 'I stay') signifies a choice to not look away, to remain in collective responsibility. The project was realized under Covid restrictions, which influenced its essential and silent nature. The work is part of a series where artists select and discuss one of their own works, revealing inspiration and creative process.