spirito del paese: mother and child
2003
Performance video installation
Collection: Campbelltown Arts Centre
Chromogenic colour print, printed 2016
35 x 43.5 cm
Edition 10
Collections: University of Technology Sydney, Monash Gallery of Art, Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art at University of Western Australia
Spirit del paese: mother and child is a site-specific work created in homage to Sarteano, the town where I was born. The presence of the theatre in the work is conceptually relevant. The theatre acts as a frame for the work, like an ornate frame around an old master’s painting. Il Teatro Comunale degli Arrischianti is a tiny ornate theatre with golden velvet lining, the intimacy of the space reminded me of a jewelry box. I performed as the ballerina found in a child’s musical box, slowly rotating before images of myself as a baby in my mother’s arms. The performance ended with a 10-minute video of Il Castello di Sarteano (Castle of Sarteano) recorded during twilight projected in the theatre space evoking the spirit of the town.