Max Magaldi's Vainglory installation launches theVices series on digital sins

Artist Max Magaldi presented his multimedia installation Vainglory on December 4 and 5, 2021 at Teatro Petrella in Longiano (Forlì-Cesena). The work inaugurates theVices, a cycle investigating the seven digital capital sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Vainglory warns against the abuse of technology and the projection of our lives into the digital world. The traditional theater perspective is reversed: spectators sit on stage while the stalls and balconies are filled with 150 mobile phones displaying different audiovisual content from social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp. The installation creates a visual and sonic sculpture where real people are invited to venture as if into a forest of flat surfaces incapable of interaction. Magaldi also addresses the democratization of art and the transformation of the audience from passive to compulsive content creators, as well as environmental responsibility and the circular economy. The project partners include Chimpy (powerbank sharing), PC4Change (IT equipment regeneration), and Shift (modular smartphones). Vainglory is part of the Vanagloria program by Cronopios, running from December 4 to 12, 2021 at Teatro Petrella, featuring performances by Marco Paolini, Luca De Rosa, and Mara Moschini with Marco Cortesi.