The project was conceived and constructed by four artists of different nationalities, inspired by the challenges and fears that can emerge when sharing a common living space. Their work expresses their desire and need for a harmonious cohabitation.
The artists are: Buening, originally from Germany, De Neve from Belgium, Anita Guerra of Cuba and Maria Korporal of the Netherlands.
As a visual metaphor, they chose a bamboo structure of a simple building – an octagon which has four entrances and four walls. The vertical planes, like walls, act as a diaphragm dividing inside from outside and intersect with the corresponding horizontal plane, replicating the human condition -- living beings in an upright position, as communicating elements between heaven and earth.
Each artist connects the horizontal plane that touches the ground with the one touching the sky with her vertical wall, and in turn, interprets and interacts with one another’s vertical structures.
For instance, the images projected by Korporal skim the sheer gauze fabric of Guerra’s piece while the hexagonal mirrors by De Neve reflect part of the installation by Buening that uses the selfies of the artists. The different works, within their diversity, share the space of the common building, which assumes the autonomous value of a collective work.
The work leaves some questions unanswered, however, and invites the public to interact.
For example, it notes: “The building lacks the roof so that together we can decide whether it should be built or not. The octagonal installation could be the nucleus of a larger and more expanded structure built according to our will and our actions. It remains for us to decide whether to enter and join in, building a new collective work together.”
The project will be documented in a digital catalog edited by Sala 1. For more information, contact Sala 1, Tel. 06 7008691/339-2397762, salauno@salauno.com, www.salauno.com.
Both De Neve and Buening are professors in the Fine Arts department at the American University of Rome. They teach Intermediate Drawing, Printmaking, and Italian Sketchbook: Images of Rome, a popular course in which students go on site to sketch the city’s most famous landmarks and viewpoints.
