Riccardo Previdi's Bubble Boy Installation at Le Dictateur, Milan

During the reopening phase of museums, galleries, and businesses in Milan, Le Dictateur gallery at via Paisiello 6 presents a single installation visible from the street through its window. The work, titled The Bubble Boy (Fase 2) by Riccardo Previdi (born 1974 in Milan), depicts the artist's body created via 3D scanning and enclosed in a large transparent plastic bubble typically used for bubble soccer. The piece references the true story of David Vetter, an American boy born in 1971 with severe immunodeficiency who lived most of his life in a plastic bubble to avoid contact with the outside world. The installation was originally exhibited two years ago at Quartz Studio in Turin and was not produced specifically for this show. However, in light of recent events, the sculpture has become highly relevant, interpreted through the lens of the pandemic that has upended society. Curator Antonio Grulli explains that everyone has been closer to Bubble Boy's condition in the last two months, lacking antibodies to defend against the external world. He notes that truly valuable artworks never age and remain open wounds that pose enduring questions, such as what it means to live and whether life is merely about survival at any cost.