work
Youthquake
| category | Installation |
| subject | Nature, Human figure, Animal |
| tags | |
| base | 200 cm |
| height | 300 cm |
| depth | 150 cm |
| year | 2017 |
'Youthquake' explores human supremacy over other living organisms in a domestic context, starting from the analysis of concepts such as vulnerability, potentiality and speciesism. 'Youthquake' wants to highlight the question of speciesism in our domestic lives, inciting a new form of affection and, in Donna Haraway’s terms, a new cross-species-respect.
Aquarium: “Glass tank in which fish or aquatic plants are kept alive”.
An aquarium is an object of common use, used in domestic environments, to contain fish or aquatic plants and embellish the house. The great aesthetic appeal of aquariums envelops them in an aura of wonder that satisfies the aesthetic desires of us human beings. Aquariums are often used both to give a different, almost magical atmosphere to domestic environments, and to satisfy the need for a pet that is not too demanding to keep. Aquariums create the illusion of closeness between the human and non-human worlds.
Fish were among the first living organisms developed in the sea and therefore they are among the most ancient forms of life on Earth. In ‘Youthquake’, featured two video projections that show the same fish, but recorded at different times (the way the fish was filmed and projected was inspired from a visual experiment to show quantum entanglement made by David Bohm). The video projections of the fish are huge, so to draw the public's attention to the details of the fish (its expressions - often frightened - the movements, the gills, the mouth, the eyes, the scales and the golden reflections), which is a pet that is often considered inferior to other animals, and considered much inferior to humans. The aquariums exhibited in 'Youthquake' host an environment that is destined to change during the weeks of the exhibition. The green styrofoam releases a bright color that creates an environment that looks toxic / sci-fi. The water pump inside the aquarium moves the water current, to make the artificial beings float around the perimeter of the aquarium as if they were alive. 'Youthquake' wants to question the idea of the aquarium as an object of ornament and something appealing to the human eye, showing it for what it is: an object that reflects an attitude of human supremacy, even in domestic environments. Artificial beings seem to have colonized the aquariums, replacing real fish and algae: they look similar to jellyfish. In fact, the show touches on the proliferation of jellyfish in the oceans due to the rise of Co2 in the atmosphere, and on the paradoxical fact that probably in the future humans will be competing with a brainless ( and therefore, “stupid”) invertebrate, the jellyfish, to get fish from the sea. Due to the increase of Co2 in the atmosphere, the sea is becoming warmer and warmer, which is a perfect condition for Jellyfish to proliferate, affecting the lives of fish in the seas and creating a lot of problems to humans. Despite being matter, in a way, these artificial beings in the aquariums behave like living beings, modifying the habitat around them. The question that 'Youthquake' wants to ask the viewer is whether it is therefore really necessary to surround oneself with glass tanks in which to bind living beings for life, when these same living beings could be replaced by artificial beings?
Medium: 2 aquariums ( 200 L and 10 L), 2 HD vides projected, water, water pump, sculpey clay, PVC transparent tubes, reused and recycled loose-fill green polysterene packing chips.
Aquarium: “Glass tank in which fish or aquatic plants are kept alive”.
An aquarium is an object of common use, used in domestic environments, to contain fish or aquatic plants and embellish the house. The great aesthetic appeal of aquariums envelops them in an aura of wonder that satisfies the aesthetic desires of us human beings. Aquariums are often used both to give a different, almost magical atmosphere to domestic environments, and to satisfy the need for a pet that is not too demanding to keep. Aquariums create the illusion of closeness between the human and non-human worlds.
Fish were among the first living organisms developed in the sea and therefore they are among the most ancient forms of life on Earth. In ‘Youthquake’, featured two video projections that show the same fish, but recorded at different times (the way the fish was filmed and projected was inspired from a visual experiment to show quantum entanglement made by David Bohm). The video projections of the fish are huge, so to draw the public's attention to the details of the fish (its expressions - often frightened - the movements, the gills, the mouth, the eyes, the scales and the golden reflections), which is a pet that is often considered inferior to other animals, and considered much inferior to humans. The aquariums exhibited in 'Youthquake' host an environment that is destined to change during the weeks of the exhibition. The green styrofoam releases a bright color that creates an environment that looks toxic / sci-fi. The water pump inside the aquarium moves the water current, to make the artificial beings float around the perimeter of the aquarium as if they were alive. 'Youthquake' wants to question the idea of the aquarium as an object of ornament and something appealing to the human eye, showing it for what it is: an object that reflects an attitude of human supremacy, even in domestic environments. Artificial beings seem to have colonized the aquariums, replacing real fish and algae: they look similar to jellyfish. In fact, the show touches on the proliferation of jellyfish in the oceans due to the rise of Co2 in the atmosphere, and on the paradoxical fact that probably in the future humans will be competing with a brainless ( and therefore, “stupid”) invertebrate, the jellyfish, to get fish from the sea. Due to the increase of Co2 in the atmosphere, the sea is becoming warmer and warmer, which is a perfect condition for Jellyfish to proliferate, affecting the lives of fish in the seas and creating a lot of problems to humans. Despite being matter, in a way, these artificial beings in the aquariums behave like living beings, modifying the habitat around them. The question that 'Youthquake' wants to ask the viewer is whether it is therefore really necessary to surround oneself with glass tanks in which to bind living beings for life, when these same living beings could be replaced by artificial beings?
Medium: 2 aquariums ( 200 L and 10 L), 2 HD vides projected, water, water pump, sculpey clay, PVC transparent tubes, reused and recycled loose-fill green polysterene packing chips.
