Rebeca Pak's 'From mouth to ear, body to body, hand to hand' at Campo XS in Genoa

Campo XS, a 33-square-meter white cube with vaulted ceilings in a 15th-century listed building in Genoa's former Jewish ghetto, hosts Rebeca Pak's exhibition 'From mouth to ear, body to body, hand to hand' from December 12, 2024 to February 27, 2025. Curated by Livia Milani, the show explores the concept of the 'exotic' as a stereotype tied to cultural identities and female bodies. Pak uses citrus fruits as symbols of colonial trade and the 'exotic' allure, critiquing how the female body is eroticized and simplified into an 'epidermal schema' (Homi Bhabha). The central work, 'Laranja mesmo, só na feira', is a three-channel soundscape of audio fragments from advertisements, festivals, and beauty pageants linking women to oranges. The title references Trinh T. Minh-ha's 'Woman, Native, Other', emphasizing the need to restore voice to the marginalized. The exhibition is part of the 'Campo Aperto' series (four shows from autumn 2024 to autumn 2025) selected via open call, initiated in 2023 by Carina Negrone with Studio Sirotti, and involving curatorial collective Mixta, curator Anna Daneri, gallery pinksummer, and cultural producer Carlo Antonelli. The previous show was by Maurizio Segato.