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
Corinna Wollf 