Mircea Cantor's 'Your ruins are my flag' at Fondazione Giuliani
Mircea Cantor's solo exhibition 'Your ruins are my flag' at Fondazione Giuliani in Rome juxtaposes ruins and Aleppo soap. The show features large sculptural installations alongside smaller works, with a central conceptual inversion: a twisted column made of soap instead of stone, while actual stone collapses into rubble. One room's blue walls reference a museum in Aleppo, a city devastated by war and famous for its soap. A standout piece shows rebar emerging from opalescent, scented soap. Less successful works include trampoline installations with heaps of rubble and soap elements that verge on cartoonish. Other pieces feature rusty flags and flowering plants entwined with newspaper clippings. A video installation shows children washing their hands with a soap cast of a human hand.
Key facts
- Mircea Cantor was born in Oradea in 1977 and lives in Paris.
- The exhibition is titled 'Your ruins are my flag'.
- It is held at Fondazione Giuliani in Rome.
- The show contrasts concepts of ruin and decay with the ephemeral and pleasant, specifically referencing Aleppo soap.
- A key work features a twisted column made of soap instead of stone.
- One room's blue walls evoke a museum in Aleppo, referencing the war-torn city.
- A notable piece shows rebar protruding from a soap column.
- Other works include rusty flags, flowering plants with newspaper clippings, and a video of children washing hands with a soap cast.
- The exhibition was in 2017.
- The review was written by Pericle Guaglianone for Artribune.
Entities
Artists
- Mircea Cantor
Institutions
- Fondazione Giuliani
- Artribune
Locations
- Oradea
- Paris
- Rome
- Aleppo