Little Chapel for the Other Than Human – Summer 2019

Video by Giuseppe Borgo

ArtFarm Pilastro 2019 (June 28-30). In this project, a rustic niche in an outbuilding of a 17th century farmhouse in the low country of the Italian province of Verona was temporarily transformed into a little chapel dedicated to the other than human. The exhibition was part of an international residency hosting 35 artists working across a wide-range of mediums.

Works included in this exhibition:

The Crypt

 Elaborate beaded flowers were used in France for centuries in the creation of funeral arrangements, often crafted from the prized Venetian beads, usually by poor women who attended to the tedious and difficult work with care and attention. The arrangements would honour the graves of loved ones for years, in all seasons, until eventually the threads that bound them decayed, leaving behind only a pile of beads. 

Sacred Heart

Glass beads on birch veneer, 20 x 24 inches

Shrines to the Waters/The Font

Glass beads on a copper armature, 8.25 x 8.25 x 1.5 inches

Icon of the Mother

Glass beads on birch veneer, 20 x 24 inches

Sacred Offerings

For centuries, the fields of the Verona low country have been the seat of Italian tobacco production. The residency site is part of this rich history and remains an operating tobacco farm. During the course of the residency, remnant tobacco leaves were collected from the dryers and grounds and placed on the floor of the chapel. The leaves, with their rich smoky odour, serve as an offering to the other than human and were placed to honour the site.

The Rectory

This work was a collaboration between Giuseppe Borgo and Corinna Wollf

Process Images

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