Pamela Diamante's 'Le Invisibili' Confronts Fascist Architecture and Migrant Labor in Bari

Artist Pamela Diamante (born 1985, Bari) presents 'Le invisibili. Esistenze radicali' at the Pinacoteca Metropolitana 'Corrado Giaquinto' in Bari until May 10, while simultaneously participating in the Malta Biennale with 'Estetica dell'apocalisse' (2017–2024) at Forte Sant'Angelo. The installation, acquired with support from the PAC2025 fund of Italy's Ministry of Culture, occupies the Sala del Colonnato of the Palazzo della Città Metropolitana—a fascist-era hall flanked by Giulio Cozzoli's muscular statues 'L'Agricoltore' and 'Il Marinaio'. Diamante's work features 16 iron and ceramic poles resembling agricultural rototillers, representing the labor and struggles of migrant women workers. The piece dialogues with historical works by Fattori, Signorini, and Pascali from the museum's collection. Diamante also directs the Focus Arte Contemporanea for the BIG – Bari International Gender Festival since 2022. The installation was realized with support from Micaela Paparella and curator Roberto Lacarbonara, and in collaboration with Actionaid International Italia and Fondazione CDP's Sweetnet project. Diamante describes the South as a 'critical space' for reappropriation and self-representation, opposing anti-meridionalist hegemony. Her practice, rooted in political aesthetics, addresses environmental, human, and social apocalypse, combining anthropology, ethnography, and sociology with peaceful militancy for minority rights.