It contains a drop of water, there is water in our planets, there is water vapor in some nebulae, there is ice in other celestial bodies. It seems that water comes from space, a timeless place. How long will the comet that brought us the first drops of water travel? Every drop is a world apart. Every drop a breath. It is said that water has memory, we believe that it also has a voice and a sound, if we get very close to it… we can hear a symphony.
The word archipelago fascinates us.
His etymology inspires us, referring to groups of islands scattered in the sea, fairly close together and with similar morphological characteristics; but the meaning that the term today takes in different contexts also inspires us: an archipelago of groups, communities or even single people, isolated from each other but similar in socio-political conditions and in a relationship of mutual and intimate exchange both with each other and with elements that often constitute other “archipelagos”.
Symphony H₂O is an archipelago of creative processes united under the same common denominator: “a drop of water”. The art videos of Giuseppe Saccotelli, the performative actions of Francesca Cinalli, the soundscapes of Paolo De Santis, the installations of Mirko Ingrao and the attentive gaze of Ornella D’Agostino will give life to a sparse path but with similar and close characteristics : water will be the common denominator to investigate the relationship between three main focuses: water-cosmos, water-memory, body-landscape.
water-cosmos: when the water moves, the cosmos participates
This suggestion comes from the documentary film “The memory of water” by the Chilean Patrizio Guzman: an immersion in the history of the Chilean archipelago, of its arid desert and of its astronomical base that fascinated us with the words and testimonies of those who reveal that life came to earth through the comets that created the seas.
water-memory: when we look at water, we look at the whole of humanity
Starting from the first water with which the man came into contact – the amniotic fluid – we ask ourselves about the intimate, close relationship, but for some it is very distant that we have with the water element: memories and dreams, rites, traditions but also real life experiences that come back to the surface.
body-landscape: where do tears come from?
Our body is made of 75% water. Therefore, we reflect on the interrelation between our body and the landscape, taking a look at the effects of climate change in progress. On the one hand the effects of deficiency (desertification), on the other the overabundance (melting of ice): in both cases water is always the great protagonist, and this touches our bodies closely. The Lake, The Ocean, The River, The Waterfall, The Deluge, The Drop are at the same time a physical and emotional landscape: tears for example know about the sea … they are salty (cit. Tonino – video interview). “The gift of tears” is divine grace that the mystics know well. It, the gift, brings joy.