32 Metri Quadri di Mare (Mediterraneo)

Bari, 2020 | Project Selected for Cantica21

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27 inox steel tanks with red dye and water

Each: 7 x 100 x 100 cm

Overall: 27 square metres

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The project takes inspiration from 32 Square Meters of Mare Circa (1967) by Pino Pascali and reflects on the impossibility, nowadays, of imagining and representing the Mediterranean Sea without considering the tragic migration crisis of which it is the scenario. 

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Appropriating the title and format of Pascali's work with some variations, 32 Metri Quadri di Mare (Mediterranean) consists of 27 square tanks of galvanised aluminum (100x100cm) - as many as the EU member countries - containing coloured water with different concentrations of red aniline. Aniline, already used as a dye (blue) by Pascali, oxidises spontaneously over time, turning dark-red. This side effect of the chemical is the pretext for reflecting on how we, contemporary Europeans, imagine our Sea and whether it is possible to separate our thoughts from that of the blood of the many missing migrants.

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The work entered the collection of the Pino Pascali Foundation Foundation, Polignano a Mare, Bari (BA).

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Pascali's work