Yuri Ancarani's 'Atlantide' Explores Venetian Youth Culture at MAMbo

Yuri Ancarani's exhibition 'Atlantide' at MAMbo in Bologna presents a filmic investigation into Venice's youth subculture, focusing on young men on 'barchini' boats who engage in rites of passage involving music, smoke, alcohol, and fleeting love. Shot in 'cormoran mode' for high image quality, the film captures direct sound and follows Ancarani's obsession with Venice, a city he describes as repellent yet magnetic. The project began in 2017 without budget, inspired by a chance sighting of a music-playing barchino. The exhibition includes unpublished materials and highlights how 'Atlantide' has become central to Ancarani's poetics, set against the backdrop of large cruise ships, the 2019 acqua alta, and lockdowns. Ancarani, born in Ravenna in 1972, draws parallels between Ravenna's water city heritage and Venice's 'islandness.'