Podcast revisits the 2001 Tirana Biennale hoax that fooled the art world

Italian publisher Il Narratore Audiolibri, founded in 1999 by Maurizio Falghera and Cristiana Giacometti, launched a podcast series on September 11, 2023, recounting the 2001 Tirana Biennale hoax. The hoax began with an angry email supposedly from photographer Oliviero Toscani to Giancarlo Politi, director of Flash Art and the biennale. The fake Toscani proposed four fictitious artists—Bola Ecua (Nigerian), Hamid Piccardo (Arab), Carmelo Gavotta (Italian), and Dimitri Bioy (Slav)—whose works were exhibited at the biennale. The real Toscani later denied involvement and filed a complaint. Police investigation pointed to Marco Lavagetto (born 1962 in Cogoleto), ranked last in Flash Art's top 150 Italian artists list, as the suspect. Notably, 'Carmelo Gavotta' is an anagram of 'Marco Lavagetto.' The four-episode podcast, produced by Tiziano Zarantonello, includes an interview with Lavagetto and analysis by Marco Senaldi, who suggests additional accomplices. Episodes: 'Una bomba nell'arte' (Sept 11), second with Senaldi (Sept 20), third with Lavagetto (Sept 27), and 'Chi è Oliver Kamping' (Oct 4). Senaldi calls the hoax 'one of the most relevant artistic operations of the century.' A TV documentary is also in production.