Salvatore Iaconesi on Art, Cancer, and COVID-19: La Cura Returns

Artist Salvatore Iaconesi, who in 2012 turned his brain cancer diagnosis into the open-source art project "La Cura," has seen a recurrence of the disease coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. He underwent surgery on March 4, 2020, and is recovering. Iaconesi reflects on the synchronicity, using his art to explore the intersection of individual tragedy and ecosystemic complexity. He discusses two works: "Constrained Cities," a wearable art piece that uses AI and profiling data to deliver electric shocks when a wearer enters a city area deemed unsuitable by the algorithm, critiquing algorithmic segregation; and "Baotaz," a "augmented sense" that allows wearers to physically experience planetary interconnections, such as climate change or collective emotions. Iaconesi argues that art can transform the intransformable, turning tragedy into opportunity by making technical data existential. He calls for a "Cultura Ecosistemica" (Ecosystemic Culture) where art, science, technology, and society collaborate. The article is part of Artribune's series asking artists how they are spending lockdown.