Waste, water and energy in international contemporary artCurated by Marialivia Brunelli and Silvia CirelliMAR Museo d’Arte della città di RavennaRavenna 10th October – 25th October 2008 -Opening 9th October (6 – 8 pm)The idea of an art exhibition based on themes linked to the environment (waste, water, and energy) took shape as a collateral event of the project Waste, water and energy: local development & economic valuation Ravenna 2008, organized by the Laboratory Labelab.Art has always represented the creative mirror of a certain epoch and place, and this timeless combination has been at the basis of the choice to combine a scientific event with an artistic one, presenting a singular artistic dialogue whose protagonists, the artists themselves, are the key interpreters of a reality in which all of us are consciously involved.
All the artists of this exhibition, coming from various parts of the world (from China to India and from Latin America to Europe), have achieved international stature. Witnesses to distinct cultural backgrounds, each of them expresses the issue of environmental sustainability through his/her own culture, tradition and sensitivity with works ranging from video-art to photography, from painting to installation.The exhibition is divided into three sections: energy, waste and water.The show welcomes its visitors with a suggestive series of luminous installations on the theme of electric energy. The artworks by Giancarlo Scagnolari and Anila Rubiku, spectacular and evocative at the same time, are shrouded in the magic of the silent half-light. The piece of Stefano Bombardieri reproduces both in shape and size four classic tables used to test eye-sight, which put side by side highlight the word “help.” This keyword jumps out like a scream, an alarming urgency inviting the viewer to be more careful at sustainable development and at pollution-related issues.Concerning the theme of waste, the video by Maria Rosa Jijon from Ecuador focuses on the daily problems of a Columbian district that thanks to the municipal rubbish tip and the recovery of recyclable materials has now created its own economy based on the waste.
The photo series of the well-known Chinese artist Xing Danwen reports the disturbing reality of a dump for electronic material every day sorted through by children and adults without protective coverings. The collages of the Croatian Lara Usic, made by recycling of miscellaneous material, seem the recycling of “stolen” memories, a possible metaphor for the multicultural aspect of the Balkan population.The theme of water is presented with great sense of lyricism in the moving video by Chen Qiulin, set in the area of the Three Gorges, in the south of China. The constant and violent annihilation of collective memories due to the floods affecting the area is symbolized by two traditional Chinese Opera actors wandering about among the debris of a China in relentless reconstruction.The photographs of Indian artistAtul Bhalla bring out the positive, religious and cultural value of water as an element of purification in the Indian tradition, whereas that by the Swiss Saul Zanolari, shows a disconcerting image of a little child trapped in a washing machine desperately shouting as if to warn us of our moral environmental responsibility for the future generations. Finally, the refined video set up by Maurizio Camerani shows the humans’ attempt to survive underwater, a search for an alternative environment in which to live that unfortunately turns out to be a failure.Artists:

• ENERGY:
  • Stefano Bombardieri, Italy
  • Anila Rubiku, Albania
  • Giancarlo Scagnolari, Italy
• WASTE
  • Maria Rosa Jijon, Ecuador
  • Lara Usic, Croatia
  • Xing Danwen, China
• WATER
  • Chen Qiulin, China
  • Atul Bhalla, India
  • Maurizio Camerani, Italy
  • Saul Zanolari, Switzerland

EXHIBITION PHOTOS

In collaboration with:
Laboratorio Labelab
MLB Maria Livia Brunelli home gallery, Ferrara
Press Office:
Paola Magni, Louise Alexander gallery (Milano, Parigi, Porto Cervo)
With the Patronage of:
Ministero dell’Ambiente, Comune di Ravenna, Provincia di Ravenna

Via di Roma 13, Ravenna, Italy

tel. +39 0544.482356/482477

www.museocitta.ra.it

ORARI:
Tue, Thu, Fri 9am-1.30pm; 3-6pm
Wed, Sat 9am-1.30pm;
Sun 3- 6pm, Monday closed

Opening October 9th, 6 – 8 pm
free entrance

For information please contact:

Maria Livia Brunelli (cell.+39/338/9714781 )

Silvia Cirelli (cell.+39/347/4319207 )

Press Release